Renegade Runaways
by kirby42280
Summary: Lucy, sole heir to the Heartfilia fortune, is tired of her life as an upperclass socialite, and all that it entails, in the wild west. Set on finding and seeking her revenge on those responsible for the death of her mother, Lucy runs away from her responsibilities. *art commissioned from Lindako7 on tumblr* **characters Hiro Mashima**
1. Chapter 1

**A/N 1:** So here I am throwing the first chapter of what I wrote for my new Fairy Tail fanfiction (after finishing Fat Donum)...I actually had this chapter completed, but I fine tuned it today, and I finished chapter 2, although I might not update that until next Wednesday.

Please let me know what you think via reviews and private messages. They'd be greatly appreciated.

 **A/N 2:** This takes place in the wild west. I hope it is descriptive enough for you and all of that. There is NaLu, Jerza, Gajevy, and Gruvia mainly/eventually, but for right now it's just the set up.

 **A/N 3:** I loosely based this on Carrie Underwood's song, Renegade Runaway, from her _Storyteller_ album. You can listen to the track here with the lyric video. (If link doesn't work, search for it on YouTube).

 **A/N 4:** This is not going to be a long story - maybe 10 chapters the max so don't be shocked when it ends sooner than you want it to. I *might* make a sequel, but it depends on the reception it gets.

* * *

 **Chapter One: Tumble Weeds**

In the western town of Magnolia City, population two hundred, Sheriff Makarov Dreyar was gathering his men in the large conference room of the station to talk business. And what he lacks in height, he definitely makes up for in his personality and semi-strict governing of the town.

"Everyone, settle down! There is a lot to discuss is today's meeting." He called out frustrated at the boisterous group before him. "Dragneel! Fullbuster! That means you two are to STOP fighting!"

The two officers that were singled out by their commanding officer stopped and immediately sat down in their chairs.

"What is going on Sheriff?" Another officer inquired to get the meeting started.

Sheriff Dreyar took a sip of his coffee before answering the blue haired officer's question.

"Well, Fernandes, the trio otherwise known as the Renegade Runaways are making their way towards us, so it seems and has been reported. They left Oshibana about a day ago, but might make a stop in Onibus before coming our way."

Gasps took over the room, and some snickering.

No one knew who these Renegades were, or much about them. The only thing that was known was the fact that they are women. It appalled most men, and women, of the country of Ishgar.

"We can take 'em!" Dragneel said proudly. "No 'Runaway' will be able to get away from me!"

"Shut up Salamander!" A tall, black-haired man scolded. "You're getting ahead of yourself!"

"You want a piece of me Metalhead?" The pink haired officer exclaimed as he balled up his fists.

"I could take you anytime and anywhere. I just don't have the energy to do so."

"ENOUGH!" Sheriff Dreyar yelled.

He then continued on with the meeting regarding where he was going to post his officers and the new shifts that came with it. He also handed out copies of the wanted posters.

"What's with the last box?" Fullbuster asked.

"No one knows what the third one looks like." Assistant-Deputy Laxus Dreyar answered. "But they are certain a third person is involved."

He was a tall young man, with blonde hair and a scar on his face. Most people were afraid of him because of his temper, but unbeknownst to him, he had stolen the heart of one long, white-haired barmaid in town. Laxus Dreyar also happened to be Sheriff Dreyar's grandson, which did not go over too well in town when he was appointed assistant deputy.

"Everyone is to be at the ready, whether you are on duty or not. We will need you assistance in capturing these criminals."

Sheriff Dreyar then continued, again, with the rest of the agenda before dismissing them. Everyone stood up, but Fernandes stayed in his seat staring at the wanted poster.

"You okay, Fernandes? You look like you've seen a ghost." Dragneel commented noticing his comrade's lack of movement.

"I-I'm fine." He answered nervously as he stood up. "Nothing to be concerned about."

"Ha! I think someone just fell in love with a wanted criminal." Fullbuster teased. "So which one is it?"

Fernandes looked up and glared at his fellow officer before waving him on and walking in the other direction.

"I have a fiancé." He said as he left the room.

"Sure you do!" Dragneel responded as he rolled his eyes.

 **~In Onibus, The Previous Day~**

A short, blue haired woman was walking into a tavern and about to ask for a drink at the bar when two men approached her.

"Hey there, little lady." One greeted.

The woman was utterly disgusted, and the two men couldn't read her body language or facial expression.

"How are you doing today?" The other asked.

She groaned before speaking.

"If you think you are getting anything from me, you have been seriously mistaken." She said and then turned to the first one. "And what was that? A crack at my height?" She inquired, plainly pissed off. "I may be small, but I can sure as hell kick your ass into next week should you continue to piss me off!"

Sure she was short, but she had a beauty to her that only the greatest man would be able to see. And these two men who were bothering here were in no way the greatest in her opinion.

All she wanted to do was to sit down, read and people watch as she had her drink.

She got her drink from the bartender and then headed over to an empty seat in a corner. It was then that one of the town's officers came in to hang up some new wanted flyers. After quickly finishing her drink, she got up and walked over to where the officer was standing and applying the posters.

"'The Renegade Runaways'." She read out loud as she looked at each picture carefully.

"Hello, there miss. Yes, the Renegade Runaways have been on the run for months now. They just left Oshibana yesterday. They are rumored to be on their way here and we are upping our patrols."

"Good to know." She replied nodding her head as she processed his last statement. "May I have one of those flyers? I may have a place myself to hang it up."

"Sure thing, miss." The officer agreed as he handed her one.

She accepted it with a smile and then made excused herself and left the tavern. The woman made her way through the town to the inn on the outskirts. She barged into the room surprising the other two women inside.

"LEVY!" A red-haired woman screamed worried. "What is it?"

"I don't think we should attack this town, Erza." She cried as she held up the wanted poster. "They are increasing their patrol and it would be really convenient for them if we attacked.

The other woman approached and looked at the sign.

"Well, they have me down to perfection." Erza replied looking at her portrait. "And you as well."

"Figures! The only one safe is Levy since no one sees her – like ever." Juvia replied.

"Calm down Juvia. Eventually she will be added in the poster." Erza said trying to calm her comrade down. "I just hope it's not for a long time. We need our little 'bookworm' to help us in secret with formulating plans."

"I know."

"Anyway, if they are increasing patrol here, they might be elsewhere. We may just want to lie low for the time being."

"I agree. Either we stay here, or just hop on the train like normal citizens and take it to the next stop in Magnolia, or we raise suspicion and take the horses."

"Horses? What horses?" Levy asked confused. "We don't have any horses." She continued and then looked at their fearless leader and put her mouth in an 'oh'. "I got it. You were going to steal some." She finished in a whisper.

"Exactly."

 **~Meanwhile~**

Lucy Heartfilia, heiress to the Heartfilia fortune, was sitting through another boring lunch with her father and a new potential husband, much to her dismay. She shifted in the uncomfortable corset she was wearing that pushed her chest to practically her chin.

"Sit still." Jude Heartfilia scolded.

"Yes, father." She said softly, but aggravated.

She wanted her mother here, but years ago she was killed in a train heist by some vandals. Lucy, at the tender age of six, witnessed her mother being dragged off the train while her father did nothing. Lucy heard her mother's screams and begs for mercy as the vandals searched and found anything of value on her. Lucy screamed after she heard the gunshot, but still to this day does not remember what happened after that. For all she knows, she cried herself to sleep sitting on the train until they reached their destination. Then everything was a blur.

For the next nine years, she followed her strict father's every request and rule without showing a shred of anger towards him. However, Lucy Heartfilia became outraged when her father told her that he would be making the arrangements for her to get married for the sake of the business.

After turning away, and sometimes scaring away, potential matches for six months straight, her father had had enough. He yelled at her, and during the heated argument slapped Lucy across her face. She curled her lower lip under the upper lip, started to tear up, and ran out of his office to her room.

Three days later, the same thing happened, but this time she was able to dodge it. She would not be his victim. She was his daughter, but for the past nine and a half years was treated like a prize.

So, in a secret form of retaliation, Lucy did some research in the death of her mother and found out who was responsible for her death. She vowed to one day leave the safety and comfort of her home to seek out the criminals to get her revenge for leaving her with such a rotten excuse for a father.

At this dinner she was going to make sure she said every outrageous thing possible. Just so she could scare away this new prospective fiancé and aggravate her father. Not that it mattered. That evening Lucy was planning on running away whether he liked it or not.

Her plan worked. She pissed off her father so much he sent her out of the room up to hers while he tried to repair the mess she caused with the suitor and his father. Lucy, on the other hand, was taking off the new corset Jude bought her, which was extremely uncomfortable, and changed into a new one as well as adding a few layers so she wouldn't have to carry a luggage trunk with her. What good is being a runaway if you pack a large case?

Once she had a few layers, she put some money she had been collecting for the past few years in her bodice as well as inside some of the other dress pockets. She also put her mother's pearls in a small pouch and stuffed them in another hidden pocket. Vandals would really have to search her for everything, but she knew exactly how to make it look like she just had on what she was wearing.

So, that night, after Lucy knew her father had turned in for the evening, the Heartfilia blonde bombshell quietly snuck out of her room and house and made her way to the train tracks and followed them north. Sure, she could have gone south first, but as far as anyone knew, Jude Heartfilia had no dealings in the town of Onibus.

The only thing she kept on her, and inside her dress, was the necklace that showed she was indeed the Heartfilia heir, should she decide she needed to use her "trump card."

 **~In** **Onibus~**

The town was bustling like crazy the next morning. The rumors were everywhere that the 'Renegade Runaways' were either on their way to the town, or actually already in the town. Levy was walking through the town and stopped short at the sight before her eyes entering the town. A young woman was struggling to walk.

Against her better ideas, she snuck over to her to help her.

"Hello! Are you all right?" Levy asked concerned for the woman's welfare.

"It's too hot." she said as she fanned herself to try and cool down.

"It is a bit warm today." Levy agreed. "My name's Levy. What's yours?"

"Lucy." The girl answered. "Lucy Heartfilia."

"Heart…fil…ia? The Heartfilia?"

"Yes." she replied and then went wide-eyed. "Crap!"

Levy smiled.

"Don't worry. You don't have to be afraid. Let's walk to the tavern and get you something to drink." Levy replied. "And if anyone asks, you can use 'McGarden' as your last name."

"McGarden?"

"Yeah." Levy said sheepishly. "It's actually my last name, but no one here knows it. I only arrived in town yesterday myself."

Levy walked with Lucy and they headed into the tavern. Levy paid for a drink for the blonde and sat with her.

"So, did you run away or something?" Levy eventually asked.

"Uh, yeah. I may have made a mistake on that one." she started as she continued to fan herself. "I have on like three dresses, so that's why I am hot."

"I can understand that. I ran away from my home as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Levy said with a sigh. "But I'd rather not divulge why right now."

"I completely understand." Lucy said with a smile.

The two girls continued to talk until Levy decided it was time for her to go. She started to stand and hesitated when a different officer came in.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?"

"I was thinking of that inn that we passed."

"Oh, okay." Levy said sadly as more officers came in. She blanched before speaking again. "You know what? Don't stay there. Come with me. I want you to meet my friends."

"Friends?" Lucy questioned. "Is that a good idea?"

"Sure. You'll love them once you get to know them. And it's only for a night."

Lucy hesitantly followed Levy through the town to the inn she was staying at, which was hidden and on the outskirts of town. She quietly followed Levy through the halls and up the back set of stairs.

"Is this a brothel?" Lucy asked scared. She heard stories from her mom about places that she never wanted to see her daughter in, and a brothel was one of them.

"What?" Levy asked with a laugh. "No! I mean, it may have been at one time, but the town banned them. The sheriff ordered this to be made into another inn."

"Oh." Lucy said embarrassed. "I am sorry."

"Don't be." she said with a pause. "I thought the same thing when we booked here and the guy at the front desk informed me of the story." She replied with a shrug as they came up to a door and opened it. "I'm back! And I brought a guest."

"A guest?" A stern voice asked. "You know how I feel about strangers, Levy."

Lucy looked over to where the voice was coming from and shuddered. Levy gulped.

"Who are you?" the woman asked her.

"My name's Lucy H-"

"She's a runaway too, Erza." Levy replied cutting her off after getting her voice again. "I helped her in town before. She needs to reduce her layers, if that's not a problem for you."

"Fine. Juvia's in the bathroom right now, so give her a few minutes."

"Thank you."

"So, this is Erza Scarlet." Levy introduced. "And this is Lucy Heartfilia."

"Heartfilia?"

Lucy bowed her head in shame.

"Yes, as in that family. I ran away from that hell hole."

Erza smiled.

"That's fine. Your secret is safe with me, and us."

The door to the bathroom creaked open and Juvia came out.

"Oh, Juvia thought she heard you Levy." another blue-haired girl commented at the sight of Levy. "And we have a guest." She finished slightly in shock as she looked at Lucy.

"This is Lucy. Lucy, this is Juvia." Erza introduced. "Are you finished in there, Juvia?"

"Yes. That felt refreshing!"

Erza nodded and then looked over at a very grateful Lucy. Lucy then made her way inside and quickly pulled off her suffocating layers down to her last dress. She eventually made it out of the bathroom and the surprised faces of her new acquaintances greeted her.

"Wow. That is such a pretty color on you." Levy stated noting the deep pink colored gown.

"Thanks." Lucy replied embarrassed. "Is there a place I can set my things?"

"Sure. Use the closet to hang the dresses. There should be some room in there."

Lucy did as she was told and carefully hung everything up and put the rest away.

"So tell us about your story. We all have reasons to runaway." Erza inquired.

Lucy was hesitant to answer, but she eventually relented.

"Not much to tell, actually. My mother was killed in front of me when I was six so I was then raised by a father who didn't know how to handle me. He was strict and annoying. Over the past year, he has been trying to force me to marry for the sake of the business, but all of the men were creeps and only after my money." Lucy blurted out and then took a deep breath before continuing. "I am not just a prize." she added aggravated. "I also have had this urge to find out who the men were that killed my mother while my father watched and did nothing."

"Did you find out who killed your mom?" Juvia questioned with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yes." she said sadly. "Some bandits called Tartaros, or something. I found they are originally from Alvarez, but have been in hiding here in Ishgar."

"I have heard of them. They are merciless creatures." Erza said disgusted. "Their leader is the worst."

"Mard Geer." Levy said quietly before looking over at Erza who gave her a nod. "So, Lucy, we were talking while you were in the restroom, and we wanted to know if you wanted to join our little group?"

"Group? What group?"

"Well," Erza trailed, "We are what the lawmen are referring to the 'Renegade Runaways'."

"Renegade Runaways? As in the women who have been wreaking havoc in Fiore?"

"Yes." Juvia answered.

"You want me to join your – "

"If not for anything, join for seeking revenge out for your mother." Juvia said cutting her off. "And we don't do anything that shouldn't be done. There are a lot of devious people in towns that are mean to the lower class. All we do is help them by stealing and causing them trouble."

Lucy was quiet as she listened to Juvia explain what they did.

"Modern day 'Robin Hoods', then?" Lucy questioned, hoping one of them would get the reference.

"YES!" Levy screamed. "Oh, how I am so happy I met you!" she added as she tackled Lucy in a hug.

"But then why not just -"

"The law is not on our side, nor do they see it." Erza quickly explained. "So, we do what we must to help the less fortunate. Sure, we keep some stuff for ourselves, but we change the minds of the towns for the most part. And we don't like to stay in one town for too long, so we're like tumbleweeds."

Lucy sat quiet for a moment before giving them a definite answer.

"But you use guns, right? I don't know how to shoot. Or fight."

"We can help you!" Juvia said with a smile.

Lucy bit her lip as she rubbed her palms together.

"Okay. I'll join."

"YES! We now have a fourth!" Levy screamed. "This is going to be great!"

"Now that that's settled, we need to get some horses and reduce what we are bringing with us."

"Well, can't we leave our stuff here, Erza? I mean, we'll only be gone for a few days."

"True. I'll talk with the man downstairs. I'll be right back."

Erza left the room and convinced the man at the front desk to allow the girls to keep their stuff there since they were planning on coming back. Once she was back in the room, the girls got a small bag packed for each of them and headed out to acquire some steeds for their use and trip to Magnolia.

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 **A/N: Well, there you have it. My first chapter for my newest project. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, and it will help me consider whether or not I want to continue this story. (I do have the next chapter written and the rest of this short story planned out, but I am not sure how the reception will be).**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N 1: Not the greatest start to views with chapter one, but at least I had some...and followers and favorites too! Now, on with the story!**

 **A/N 2: I am so freaking excited! Look to the picture! It's new! I commissioned it from tumblr user lindako (deviant art account same = lindako) and she finished it within a couple of days. I am so pleased! Custom artwork is a check!**

 **(** Again, based on Carried Underwood's song, _Renegade Runaway_ , so if you want to hear it, you can listen to the track with the lyric video. (Search for it on YouTube **).**

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 **Chapter Two: So Picturesque**

Back in Magnolia City, four of the officers were rounding up and mounting their horses for the usual patrol when Sheriff Dreyar approached them.

"Men."

"Yes, sir?" chimed Jellal, Gajeel, Grey and Natsu.

"How can we help you sir?" Jellal questioned.

The older sheriff looked at the four men and took in a deep breath before letting it out in a sigh.

"I need to request the four of you to take it easy today."

"What? Why?" Natsu asked confused.

"Yeah, why?" Grey added.

Sheriff Dreyar took in a deep breath and let it out before he answered his young officers.

"There is a masquerade ball tonight and I need you four to be at your ready and best just in case the Runaways make their move tonight."

"Oh. Where is the party?" Gajeel inquired.

"At the Justine Manor."

"Is there a specific reason why we're being asked to be security for the ball tonight?"

"Yes, Jellal. We have reason to believe the Runaways, once informed of the gathering, may show up."

The four nodded before heading off and doing their normal patrol. They agreed to meet at the Justine Manor an hour before the party was to start to get their bearings.

"So, Fernandes, tell us about this fiancee you said you have." Gajeel teased.

Jellal turned and faced his subordinate and glared at him.

"I have one. That is all you need to know." he curtly replied before kicking his horse to make him go faster.

Gajeel just laughed as he did the same. Natsu and Grey just hung back and let the two get ahead. They opted to mosey along through town.

 **~On the Outskirts of Magnolia City~**

The four women dismounted their horses high up on a mountain looking over the valley that Magnolia City was located in and stood in awe.

"I didn't realize Magnolia was so big." Levy stated with a hint of disappointment.

"It's okay. We aren't going to stay long. Just a quick two or three day stay in town for one hit and then we'll leave." Erza reassured her. "We'll rest for a few minutes before continuing on."

The girls nodded as they sat down on a boulder near where they stopped. Erza decided that the three should at least put their hair up in the acceptable style while they waited, so Lucy did Erza's while Levy did Juvia's.

"So, why we're taking a break, care to share your runaway stories?" Lucy questioned. "I mean, I did share mine back in Onibus."

The three looked at her with wide eyes, but it was Juvia who spoke first.

"Well, mine's easy. I hated how I was treated at the saloon that I worked at in Oak Town, the Phantom Lord. The owner was such a jerk and they always said the only way you would be able to leave was if you died, but I found a way to get out without my life ended."

"Didn't that saloon burn to the ground?" Levy asked as she and Juvia switched places.

"Yes." Juvia said with a grin. "Another employee helped get me out. What happened there was all because of him, although I don't really trust most men, he will always hold a special place in my heart for what he did, kind of like an older brother." she took a deep breath. "I met Erza and Levy about six months ago and we decided to make this little group of female bandits."

Lucy smiled. Juvia's story was simple enough. She turned to Levy as Erza switched and started to do her hair.

"What? My story?" Levy asked confused. Lucy nodded. "Oh, uh, well, mine's simple enough. I've been on my own since I was about ten. I wasn't necessarily a runaway, but I did leave the town I knew as home behind and met Erza a couple of days later. We've been looking out for each other ever since. When we met Juvia, we thought it was awesome."

Lucy then turned to Erza. Just by the scarlet haired woman's facial expression, Lucy knew it wasn't time for Erza to share her story just yet. To change the topic, Lucy stood up and stretched.

"Shall we head into town?"

The three women nodded as the two blue haired women stood up. They remounted their horses, but before they headed into town Lucy stopped them.

"Uh, ladies?"

"Yes Lucy?" Juvia responded.

"I think for the sake of our privacy, we should ride in side saddle and possibly come in separately so we don't raise suspicion."

"That's a great idea! Erza?" Levy replied.

Erza looked at the three and nodded. She then decided where they would meet and that Lucy should be the first to go in.

So, Lucy started her way down the path with the horse she was on and made her way to the Fairy Tail Saloon and Inn on the far side of town. Levy headed down as well, but went around the outside of the town to the east side, as Juvia made her way to the west side. Erza stayed at the top of the mountain for twenty minutes before making her way down.

The three that were heading in had to deal with the cat-calling of the locals all on their own. Lucy rolled her eyes at the pathetic attempts, while Levy started to get red in the face with anger as she rode along. Juvia kept quiet and secretly thought the worst for each man.

Lucy arrived at the Fairy Tail Saloon and Inn first and dismounted her horse. She then tied it to one of the racks in front of the saloon and took a look to her left and right to see if she saw Levy and Juvia approaching. She took a deep breath as she opened the brown swinging saloon doors and walked in.

Lucy bit her lip before starting to walk over to the bar, maneuvering through the vast amount of people.

"Ah, welcome to the Fairy Tail Saloon!" a woman with long white hair greeted as Lucy headed up to the counter. "What can I get you?"

"For right now, maybe a water?"

"Sure thing!" the woman replied as she quickly turned around and then came back handing her a water. "My name's Mirajane, but everyone calls me Mira. Are you new in town? I don't think I've ever seen you before?" she quickly spat out as Lucy took a sip.

"Wow! This is refreshing!" Lucy commented at the sharp taste of the water.

"Yes, we have an awesome spring we get it from."

"And to answer your questions, yes, I am new here. My name's Lucy." she introduced.

"Well, welcome Lucy. And if you need a place to stay, we have plenty of vacancies here at the inn."

"Thank you. I definitely will have to take you up on the offer." she replied with a smile as she looked around at the hoard of people inside, and then to the door. "Is there an open table by chance?"

Mira pursed her lips as she looked around.

"Um, I think the one in the way back by the back bulletin board is the only one open. Are you expecting more people?"

Lucy blanched. She shouldn't have asked.

"Uh, yeah actually. Some friends are meeting me here."

"Okay, if anyone shows up and comes up to me, I'll let them know if you don't. My sister, Lisanna, and another associate, Cana, are covering the floor, so don't be surprised if they swing by the table."

"Thank you." Lucy stated before leaving the bar and making her way through the crowd to the table.

Once she found the table she put her glass down in the corner sear so that she could face the doorway, but she noticed the bulletin board had a few notices on it, she decided to look at what was on display. Of course, there was typical wanted posters for the Tartaros gang and for the Renegade Runaways, but there was also the notice for a ball that evening, and a light bulb went off in Lucy's head. She opted to sit down and wait for the arrival of her friends, which didn't take too long.

Levy and Juvia ended up arriving at the same time and came into the saloon. Lucy could hear the new cat calls being made to two new arrivals and she correctly assumed that it was her friends that were the victims. Carefully, Lucy stood up on the chair and tried to find her friends, glancing over at the bar where Mira was shaking her head at the sight of Lucy on the chair. Lucy then saw Mira leave the bar and head over towards the entrance where she then saw her talking with her friends. Moments later, Juvia and Levy were making their way through the crowd and towards Lucy.

"I hate men!" Levy angrily stated as she sat down in one of the open chairs and put her head on the table.

Juvia nodded as she also sat down and another white haired waitress came over.

"Hello! My name is Lisanna! Can I get you anything to drink ladies?"

Lucy smiled. This was definitely Mira's sister. They looked too much alike, especially with the matching white hair.

"Yes, water please." Juvia requested and then looked at Levy. "For each of us."

"Sure thing! Coming right up!"

As soon as Lisanna left, Levy picked her head up to look over at a grinning Lucy.

"What's that look for?"

"What look?" Lucy nonchalantly inquired with a smile. Levy raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so I think I know how we can get some information on the townspeople here."

"How?" Juvia curiously asked.

Lucy grinned as she casually and inconspicuously pointed to the board behind Levy.

"There's some big masquerade ball where only the upper class can get in." Lucy started to explain. "I can thanks to my lovely last name, and I can try to get Levy in too since no one knows what she looks like."

Levy and Juvia smiled at each other at the thought.

"We'll definitely have to talk with Erza about that, but I don't see it as being a problem." Levy commented as she stood up to look at the wanted posters. She was quiet for a few moments before speaking. "Did you see the wanted posted for Tartaros?"

"Yes. Those are just some of them. The guy who killed my mom isn't pictured there." Lucy said sadly. "But I love the wanted poster of the Renegade Runaways." she added teasing as Levy sat down.. "Your picture is lovely." she whispered as she saw Lisanna coming over with the drinks.

"Funny." Levy replied as she looked up at Lisanna with a smile. "Thank you for the water."

"You're welcome." Lisanna said as she placed Juvia's glass down. "I saw you looking at the wanted posters. Those darn criminals will be caught soon I hope."

"Which ones?" Juvia asked not knowing which group she was referring to as a couple of lawmen walked slowly by.

"Both the Tartaros gang and the Runaways. Those girls are a disgrace to the idea of a woman. Sinful in my opinion."

Lucy and Juvia's faces fell flat.

"Ya got that right Lisanna!" one of the officers yelled, butting into the conversation causing her to roll her eyes.

Lisanna watched as the men walked away before leaning in.

"Actually, I commend them for what they are doing." she added in a whisper. "Mira and Cana do too."

Lucy smiled.

"Do you guys serve food here too?" Levy inquired.

"Of course! Let me get menus for you ladies."

"If you can, bring four. We're still waiting on someone." Juvia requested.

Lisanna agreed and rushed off to grab them menus and took care of some other customers. The girls were left to chit chat while they waited for Erza to arrive.

Erza was riding her horse slowly through the town once she arrived. She headed right to the Fairy Tail Saloon and tied up her horse before heading inside the building. Once in, the men cat-called and she rolled her eyes as she made her way to the bar. She ordered a drink from Mira without even wanting to make small talk and looked around. She saw Lucy standing up and once her beverage was ready she made her way over to the table.

"Ladies." she greeted.

"Hello!" the three chimed.

"We had the waitress bring menus so we can eat something." Levy stated.

"And Lucy has a great idea on how we can get some information on the people of this town." Juvia added causing Erza's attention to be obtained.

"And what would that be?"

"Well," Lucy started, "there's apparently a masquerade ball at some mansion here in town and you have to be part of the upper class as well. I was thinking of going in with Levy since no one knows what she looks like." she finished with a hopeful look upon her face.

Erza was scarily quiet for a few moments before she responded.

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"All we're doing is getting info and schmoozing with the snobs, E. It's no big deal." Levy replied.

Erza looked at Levy and then to Lucy and back to Levy again.

"Okay. I'm game. Juvia and I will keep a lookout outside somehow for any sign of trouble."

The girls agreed, and once they were able to look at the menu, they ordered something to eat. Once finished, Lucy approached Mira about a room for the four of them, and Mira happily showed them upstairs to the inn portion of the building and introduced them to her brother, Elfman. He showed them to their room and then left them in peace.

"Nice, uh, family." Levy commented once they were all inside. "Did you see that guy? He's huge!"

"Compared to you, everyone is huge." Erza replied without skipping a beat causing the girls to laugh and Levy to turn red.

Levy took a deep breath in and then exhaled.

"Anyway!" she huffed. "What's the plan until tonight?"

"Freshen up." Lucy commented. "We have to look our best as much as we can to be presentable."

Juvia smiled and then her face fell flat.

"How are you planning on getting in exactly, Lucy?"

Lucy smiled as she pulled out her necklace from the purse that was attached to the inside of her dress.

"With this. It's a family crest necklace. It should, I hope, get us in."

After bathing and relaxing, Levy and Lucy got ready with Erza's and Juvia's assistance. Before they knew it, it was time to head to the Justine Manor for the masquerade ball.

"I am surprised you had two masks hidden away." Levy commented.

Lucy giggled.

"Actually, I was always taught to be prepared for anything. And, I may have passed a shop on my way into town that had them on display in the window. I loved them both and bought them on a whim." Lucy shamelessly admitted.

Levy and Lucy made their way to the Justine Manor with Juvia and Erza trailing behind by fifteen minutes.

"So, does your family have any dealings with anyone in Magnolia?"

"Not that I am aware of." Lucy answered. "I just hope no one notices who I am." Levy stopped walking and Lucy quickly noticed. "What is it?"

"Oh my. I just realized. Don't they usually announce the newly arrived guests?"

"Normally, yes, but not at masquerades, which is great. It defeats the purpose, but we will be checked to make sure we are allowed in."

Levy gulped.

"I have never been so nervous in my life."

Lucy giggled as they approached the manor and got in line. Once it was time for the two to go in, the guard almost didn't let them in, but finally relented after Lucy took off her mask. He apologized for not believing that she was who she said she was and let them pass with no problem.

"That was…semi easy." Levy commented in a whisper as they made their way to the grand hall. "Shall we split up?"

"Not just yet. We need to get our bearings and find a meeting spot of sorts inside."

Levy nodded and then looked up at the ceiling of the room they were in.

"Holy!"

"Sshh." Lucy scolded. "Don't act like a simpleton. Remember what I taught you."

"Sorry. This place is huge though!" Levy replied and then saw where Lucy was looking. She saw a man with green hair, finely dressed and looking important. "I am guessing that is Freed Justine, head of the house here. From what I know, his parents passed away leaving him everything. This party is more like an announcement that the Justine family is still around and is still relevant, even if he does not have any heirs himself yet."

Lucy nodded.

"The last name was familiar, but I have never met him, as far as I know." She commented. "Know anything about the woman and two men next to him?"

"That would be Miss Evergreen, Mr. Bixlow, and our town's Assistant Deputy, and personal friend to Mr. Justine, Laxus Dreyar." a rough voice said from behind startling the girls.

They turned around to see Elfman Strauss standing behind them, and they only knew is was him by his insanely white hair.

"Mr. Strauss, I did not expect you to be here." Lucy commented.

"Ah, so I fail with the mask?"

"No, your hair gave you away." Levy replied trying to cheer him up.

He smiled.

"Mira, Lisanna and I are here to help with the food. Mira makes the best food, as you have tasted earlier, and Mr. Justine requested she cook for his guests this evening."

With a little more small talk, Lucy and Levy got quite a bit of information out of the middle Strauss sibling about some of the people in town. When asked why they were so interested in the people, Lucy stated it was research for her father since he had no dealings in town.

Once they were left to their own devices, the two split up to gather some more information. Lucy was approached by Mr. Justine himself for a dance, and she kindly obliged. Levy, on the other hand, made her short stature work for her as she maneuvered herself around the crowd of people to eavesdrop in on the many conversations that were going on in the room. She parked herself beside four lawmen that were standing guard in one area of the room.

"Natsu, are you okay?" the one right next to Levy asked the pink haired officer.

"Yeah."

"You sure?" the blue haired one asked.

"Yeah."

The boys followed Natsu's gaze as he watched the host dance with a beautiful blonde woman.

"Uh oh! Dragneel has been compromised." the taller black haired officer teased.

"What?" Natsu asked confused. "I can't think a woman is pretty?"

"No, you can, but when you do you get stupid."

"Take that back Fullbuster!"

The taller of the four started to laugh as the blue haired one let out a huge gasp causing the others to calm down and stare at him.

"You okay Fernandes?"

"Uh, yeah, I thought I just saw someone I knew." he answered. "We should split up to patrol the room."

Once the four left the area, Levy looked in the direction that the officer Fernandes was looking and saw Erza's red hair on the other side of the window. She grumbled as she made her way over to it to see if she could spot Erza outside.

 **~Outside~**

Juvia and Erza were watching the girls through a window on the side of the house as they stood in between the hedges and building itself.

"Juvia wishes she was in there dancing to her heart's content."

"You haven't done that in a while." Erza commented as she kept her focus on Lucy and Levy.

"Done what?"

"Talk in the third person." the red haired woman answered as she watched where Levy was. It was then that she noticed him, and just as he started to look directly at her through the window, Erza ducked. "Shit!"

Juvia ducked too worried.

"What? What is it?"

"I recognized one of the officers. Not good. I hope he didn't see me, but we should find a different spot."

"Okay. Maybe one closer to where I can see the dreamy ebony haired officer." Juvia replied causing Erza to give her an odd expression.

* * *

 **A/N 3:** So I had this chapter and the first done before I added it to this site. I have a notebook with each chapter's titles and the general idea of what is to happen in each chapter. I go so excited figuring that out that I wrote the final chapter a couple of days ago. That was a first for me. Now it's just writing chapter five through nine (three and four are done because my muse wouldn't let me stop).

 **Thanks to the following users for following: Kawaii-Turtles, KrispiKreme, TheWolfThatRunsFree, vanessamolina, and Lasana.**

 **Thanks to the following users for adding this story to your favorites: Kawaii-Turtles, CrazyBakaLover, and Lasana.**

 **Review Responses :**

 **N/A this time...maybe next?**

 **Reviews are always welcomed, as are private messages to send me your thoughts. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N 1: Thank you to the ever talented Tumblr user lindako for the awesome cover art! She also has an account on Deviant Art (lindako).**

 **(** Again, based on Carried Underwood's song, _Renegade Runaway_ , so if you want to hear it, you can listen to the track with the lyric video. (Search for it on YouTube) **.**

* * *

 **Chapter** **Three:** **Heartbreak Bandit**

Inside Lucy was throughly enjoying herself as she danced and made her way about the room. Mr. Justine, Freed as he said she could call him, took it upon himself to introduce her to many of the town's residents, including the sheriff and his son. Lucy had to play calm, but otherwise she was absolutely nervous since in a few days time all hell would break loose and the Runaways would make their move.

"Sheriff Dreyar here has everyone on the lookout for the Runaways." Freed commented. "And Assistant Deputy Laxus hasn't had a day off in a while."

"Oh, really?" Lucy inquired. _Perfect! Hopefully he'll be too tired to fight._ "That's a shame. Everyone needs to rest to gather their energy." she added. "Are they expected to be in town?"

"Rumored to be on their way here, Miss Heartfilia." the sheriff answered. "I trust my men to be able to do their job and capture them." he added with a pause. "I just hope they don't make a victim of you, so please be careful while you are here."

"I don't think they will be a problem for me. From what I have heard and read, they only attack men." she saw the worried look on his face. "But, to appease you, once I hear that they have, in fact, arrived in town, I will hide or just head back home."

"We would appreciate that." Laxus commented. "Where are you staying now? We can have an officer stand by and keep guard."

"Oh, I am staying at the Fairy Tail Inn." Laxus and his grandfather nodded at her reply. "But don't trouble yourself. I didn't bring anything really of value with me. And I am fairly decent at defending myself."

After their conversation ended, Freed directed her through the guests and eventually let her mingle on her own. Lucy, once out of his sight, found Levy by a window.

"What on earth are you doing way over here? Are the walls talking?"

"No, but if they could they'd probably tell some interesting stories." Levy quickly replied. "But I think one of the officers saw Erza peeking in before. I came over here to this window because this is where she was, but when I got here, she was gone."

"Hmm…maybe they made eye contact and she bolted, which would be a more preferable move."

Levy nodded.

"So, what did you find out? You were with Mr. Justine a long time."

"He introduced me to practically everyone, the sheriff and his grandson included."

Levy smiled and formed a more mischievous grin on her face as she saw the pink haired officer for the umpteenth time making his way past her.

"Well, I know something you don't know."

"What's that?" Lucy asked curiously.

The short blue haired woman grinned larger.

"You apparently took the breath away from one pink-haired officer that happens to be coming this way."

Lucy went wide-eyed and then looked at the approaching man.

"Not bad." she whispered. "But I don't think I can believe that he wouldn't be after me for my money."

Levy let out a small chuckle.

"I am going to find Erza and Juvia. Don't take too long. Turn him down gently. He might be super sensitive."

Lucy narrowed her eyebrows at her friend as she left, and Natsu made his way over to her.

"Ma'am." he greeted with a tip of his hat. Lucy raised her eyebrows. "I hope you are enjoying yourself."

"I am." Lucy answered a little puzzled. "Thank you."

He nodded as he walked right past her causing Lucy to be even more puzzled. She opted to make her way out, but thanked Freed for introducing her to so many of the residents. Once she left the building, she made her way down the path and met up with the girls.

"Okay, so spill! Who did you know through the window?" Juvia inquired.

Erza took in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh before even coming up with a reply.

"Not here. Back in the room."

The girls mutedly agreed and they headed to the hotel.

An hour later, the party was winding down and the boys made their way back to the sheriff's office to make their basic reports.

"So, who did you think you saw?" Redfox asked.

"Probably the ghost of this fiancee of his." Dragneel teased.

Jellal let out a small laugh at the stab at him and Grey went wide-eyed.

"Wait? Was Salamander right?"

"Yes."

The three got quiet.

"You wanna tell us about her?"

Jellal swallowed what saliva he had in his throat before releasing a sigh.

"Not much to tell. She's beautiful. I love her scarlet hair especially. I've known her since we were kids growing up in an orphanage." he answered and then looked up at Natsu who was showing him a puzzled expression. "I got adopted - "

 **~With the Girls~**

"and moved away. It wasn't until years later when I saw him again, after I was released from the orphanage's care. I came here, by chance, reunited with him and we started to court. He eventually proposed and I said yes."

Erza took a deep breath in as she gathered her composure.

"So, then what happened?" Lucy asked.

 **~With the Boys~**

"We made arrangements for the wedding day, but when it arrived, she never showed."

"Wait! Are you telling me that she stood you up? And left you at the altar?" Redfox asked in the middle of small laughs.

Grey hit him hard in the shoulder.

"It's not funny." Fullbuster scolded.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, she left me at the altar. After we cleaned everything up, we went looking for her but never found her. After that, my friends called her the 'Heartbreak Bandit' or 'HB' around me when talking about her. It was even her codename when we were looking for her on the reports we gave each other." Fernandes replied with a small smile and chuckle as he thought about it.

"So, you never fell in love with anyone else?"

Jellal shook his head.

"I couldn't. I loved her too much." he said with a pause as he glanced over at the wanted poster on the wall. "I still do."

 **~With the Girls~**

"So…you left him on the day of your wedding and never looked back?" Juvia asked trying to understand.

"I..uh..yeah. I didn't know what the future would hold for us in this world, and my time in that deplorable orphange wasn't all that happy. I did not want to be tied down to society's standards, so I left him."

Levy gave her a disapproving glare.

"I wasn't happy about it Levy. Don't judge me. As much as I don't want to admit it, I cried once I found a safe place to do so."

"And when you said that he was still your fiancee?" Lucy questioned.

"I think both he and I had a mutual decision unbeknownst to one another that we would still consider us as an engaged couple. I've kept up with information about him, and was told he had never courted anyone else. I suspect he recognized me recently due to the wanted poster."

"At least he knows you're still alive." Levy commented on the side. "But which one is Jellal?"

"Tall. Blue haired, with the tattoo under his eye."

Lucy and Levy nodded. They knew which one they meant.

"If you want a change in mood, Lucy stole the heart of one Officer Dragneel." Levy teased. "Speaking of which, what did you two talk about?"

"Nothing. He just asked if I was enjoying myself, and after I answered, he continued on with his walk." Lucy explained and then blanched.

"What is it?"

"Crap! I'll be right back. I need to go talk to Elfman or Mira." Lucy answered as she got up and then left the room leaving the girls worried and curious.

Lucy made her way down the stairs to the front desk of the inn and found Mira working the counter.

"Hi Lucy! How can I help you?"

"Uh, I have a strange request."

"Okay, shoot!"

Lucy bit her lip before asking.

"I was kind of wondering if you had a spare room available. Now that the whole town knows I am here, being a Heartfilia, I kind of told the sheriff and his grandson that I was staying here. However, I didn't say I had friends with me."

Mira smiled as she processed this request.

"So, what you are wondering is if I have a spare room so you can have it as well as a ploy?"

Lucy nervously nodded.

"It's fine. I'll check you out of the other room in the ledger and put you in this one." Mira said as she handed her a key. "If anyone asks, I'll just say you were waiting for this one to open up, and since it was being renovated due to a brawl a week ago, it's perfect."

Lucy smiled, thanked Mira profusely and then made her way back upstairs. She then opened the door to the room where the girls were and stopped short in the doorway. She was greeted by three very confused, and possibly mad, faces.

"Uh..hi?"

"What the hell was that all about?"

"A ploy." Lucy answered deviously Erza as she closed the door. "I may or may not have told the sheriff and the assistant deputy that I was staying here. So, I went to Mira to see about a spare room."

Erza raised her eyebrows in an approving glare.

"Nice one."

"So, now what?" Juvia asked.

"Now we sleep. Lucy, you probably should at least use that room for the night as confirmation in case they come by."

Lucy nodded in agreement. She grabbed her sack and headed down to the room quietly. Once inside, she made her way over to the bed and collapsed on top of it.

In the morning the girls regrouped for breakfast, but decided it would be best to split up for the day since the four of them together might raise suspicion. Juvia opted to stay in the saloon and inn, while Lucy and Levy headed into town together. Erza wandered off on her own, which was fine for the other three.

"You know," Levy quietly started, "we probably should start training you in the use of a gun."

"Yeah, I am so not ready for that." Lucy answered as she saw two men approaching them. She was scared and startled at first, but then she recognized them as two of the officers that were inside the ball the previous night.

"Miss Heartfilia." the pink haired one greeted with a smile.

"Hello officer…I'm sorry, I never did get your name last night."

"Sorry. I am Natsu Dragneel, and this is my associate, Gajeel Redfox."

"Pleasure. This is my friend, Levy." Lucy introduced and then paused.

"Does your friend have a last name?" Redfox inquired.

"McGarden." Levy answered with a small smile. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Well, Shrimp, pleasure to meet you too."

Levy went from a nice and cheery disposition to a flat expression causing Natsu to scratch the back of his head and Lucy to take a step to her left away from Levy.

Levy walked up to the tall, black haired man with her cheeks puffed out.

"Yes?"

Levy swallowed and then kicked him in his left chin. Hard. As he winced in pain at the shock and grabbed his leg to rub it, she spun around on her heel and walked away in the other direction.

"I..uh..am sorry?" Lucy squeaked in shock at Levy's unladylike behavior. "It pleasure seeing you again, Mr. Dragneel and a pleasure meeting you Mr. Redfox." she added and then curtsied before leaving the two.

She caught up to Levy and the two quickly headed back to the inn. Lucy didn't bring it up, but she secretly smiled at her friend's recent actions.

Meanwhile, Jellal Fernandes was walking around town after finally leaving his house at eleven o'clock in the morning. He meandered through the winding streets of Magnolia City stopping in front of a shop and staring into the window at the items on display.

When he looked up and what he thought was into the store, he realized he was actually looking at a reflection, or a figment of his imagination. He started to turn his foot slowly but was stopped.

"Don't turn around." the woman firmly requests and he obeys. "Don't come after me or the girls. We're just passing through."

Jellal nodded before sucking in a deep breath.

"Were - were you outside the Justine Manor, or was that my imagination?" he stuttered causing her to take a step forward.

He didn't react, or at least he hoped he didn't. All of a sudden he felt arms wrap around his waist embracing him in a hug. Jellal's reflexes made him rest his hands on hers as he felt something hit the back of his back, which he assumed was her face.

"Yes." she said quietly and then released him. "Now, close your eyes and count to one hundred before turning around."

"Before you go, can I say something?"

Erza is quiet. Did she really want to hear what he had to say? Of course. She did love him still, after all, right?

"Yes."

"I wanted to let you know that I forgive you for leaving me at the altar." he started and then paused. "And that I still love you no matter what."

Erza swallowed hard.

"And I you." she admitted. "Now close your eyes. Count to one hundred. And don't come after me."

Once she saw that his eyes were closed. She quietly walked up to him, kissed him on the cheek, and then bolted to head back to the Fairy Tail Saloon and Inn.

 **~Two Hours Later~**

The girls had regrouped and Lucy and Levy regaled Erza and Juvia with the tale on how Gajeel had made Levy so angry that she kicked him in the chin. It made Erza entertained for a little while before getting all solemn and serious again. Juvia listened intently once Gajeel's name was mentioned, but she didn't tell the girls she knew him

"So what happened with you?" Levy asked noting her friend's vacant expression.

"Saw Jellal. Told him not to come looking for me. He verified if he saw me or not last night and confessed he still loved me." she blurted out with a sad expression.

Levy got up and cautiously gave Erza a small hug in an attempt to cheer her up.

"I don't think a hug is going to work, Levy." Juvia chided as she stood up. "But I think I know what might." she added as she headed to the door. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

Levy and Lucy looked to each other puzzled and then shrugged their shoulders. Juvia came back within ten minutes smiling.

"What was that about?"

"You'll find out in about thirty minutes."

For Levy and Lucy it was a long, excruciating thirty minutes. For Juvia, she was too giddy to notice, and for Erza it was another boring thirty minutes.

There was a sudden knock on the door and Juvia rushed to it and took what was being delivered. She turned around smiling. Levy and Lucy had walked up to see what it was, but Erza was sitting by the window staring outside and lost in a daydream.

"She's going to devour that." Levy quietly commented.

"But won't we get any?"

Juvia smiled as she motioned for Lucy to look outside the door. Lucy did and found the other item and grabbed it and the plates, knife, and fork.

The three walked over to Erza, placed a plate and a fork in front of her on the table before making room for the larger item.

It took a few seconds, but Erza eventually turned her head at her three friends and then down at the small table.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Well, Erza, if you think it's a strawberry shortcake with extra whip cream and strawberries then you are positively correct." Juvia answered as she picked up her fork and handed it to her. "Enjoy!"

"All mine?" Juvia nodded.

The three left Erza to her dessert and they enjoyed the one Juvia got for the three of them.

 **~With the Boys~**

Jellal heard feet shuffling on the dirt below him and felt body heat close to him. He didn't dare move. It definitely wouldn't be in his best interest. What surprised him though was the gentle feel of her lips on his cheek before hearing her run off. He opened is eyes seconds later.

"So the Heartbreak Bandit strikes again." he said out loud to himself with a chuckle as he put his hand to his cheek.

He started on his journey home and was almost at his safe haven when he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and found Gray running over to him.

"Hey Fullbuster." Jellal greeted slightly puzzled.

"So, wanna go for a drink? I've got nothing better to do."

Jellal thought about it for a split second before answering.

"Sure. I'll join you. Where'd you want to go?"

"Not sure, but we do have plenty of saloons here in town." Grey answered.

The two walked and talked some more as they tried to find a saloon that wasn't completely crowded with people. When they got closer to Fairy Tail, they noticed how abnormally empty it was so they went in.

"I was trying to avoid this place since it's usually a madhouse." Grey commented as he looked around inside. He saw Mira talking to a blue haired woman and then watched as the woman disappeared through the back door to the inn area.

Jellal let out a small chuckle.

"I saw that. You are now compromised, Fullbuster." he teased. "All we need now is for Gajeel to be."

Grey looked at his cohort and smiled.

"Like that will ever happen." Grey scoffed as they approached the bar. They were greeted by a new barmaid and she took their drink orders and served them up real quick. "Where'd Mira go?"

"In the back now to the kitchen to make something for a guest." came the barmaid's reply.

A shrug later, the two headed to a table and sat down. Second later in walked in Natsu and Gajeel, who was limping.

"what the hell happened to you?" Jellal questioned as he came over to the table and Natsu headed to the bar laughing.

Gajeel groaned as they could still hear Natsu laughing until he came over.

"Get this! You know Miss Heartfilia? The one that came last night to the ball at the Justine Manor?" the two nodded. "Well, she had a friend with her, a blue haired one."

"I remember. She was a little shorter than Miss Heartfilia." Grey commented.

"Okay, so Gajeel and I ran into the two beautiful women, and he has to go and insult Miss McGarden after being officially introduced. She kicked him. In his chins. Hard." Natsu said in between outpours of laughter.

Natsu couldn't contain himself after explained what happened.

"I think she broke skin." Gajeel said on the side as Lisanna brought their drinks over. "Thank you Miss Lisanna." he stated as he chugged his scotch.

Jellal and Grey looked at each other and then started to laugh themselves.

"Thanks guys. I needed that laugh." Fernandes eventually stated as the three winded down.

* * *

 **A/N 2:** I completely forgot to update on Wednesday, and I have been very busy at work so I haven't really had time to spare. So, I am updating now while I remember. I hope everyone has a good weekend!

 **Thanks to the following users for following: ft-black-knight, Nelly3215, Crazyaniknowit, and fairy-jane-ever-123.**

 **Thanks to the following users for adding this story to your favorites: ft-black-knight, Nelly3215, StraniqueGirl0684, and fairy-jane-ever-123.**

 **Review Responses :**

 **fairy-jane-ever-123: Thank you so much for reviewing. Truth be told, if you hadn't yesterday I probably would have put off updating until I actually remembered. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N 1: Thank you to the ever talented Tumblr user lindako for the awesome cover art! She also has an account on Deviant Art (lindako).**

 **(** Again, based on Carried Underwood's song, _Renegade Runaway_ , so if you want to hear it, you can listen to the track with the lyric video. (Search for it on YouTube) **.**

* * *

 **Chapter** **Four: Tough As Nails**

The girls opted to start training Lucy in the use of guns and hand to hand combat the next morning so that she wouldn't be completely defenseless should the time come that she need to help herself and the others. Instead of staying in town, they found a secluded spot in the hills surrounding the west side of the town and used a flat area for the training.

If you had to ask Lucy what she thought, she bluntly put that it was rigorous, but necessary. She had difficulty hitting her small targets, and she was getting frustrated with the gun. She tried two hands on the gun, as well as one, with no luck.

"UGH!" Lucy groaned in frustration as she plopped herself on the ground. "I can't do this!"

"Relax Lucy!" Levy tried to console her. "I was horrible too at first. And this IS only your first day."

"How am I supposed to hit the damn cans and bottles? Any suggestions?"

"Hmm.." Erza started.

"You can always picture the face of the man that is responsible for your mom's death on each can and bottle." Levy quickly stated. "I know I pictured some people I hated when I was growing up. It helps."

Lucy pulled herself back up and reloaded the gun and focused on the targets in front of her. She closed her eyes and imagined the faces of the men that pulled her mom away from her, and the one that Lucy suspected shot her. When she opened her eyes the image was lingering in front of the can and Lucy pulled the trigger without hesitation.

All four of them were shocked when the can fell to the ground and had two clean holes in each side, but none more so than Lucy herself.

"I did it. I actually friggin' did it!" she squealed.

"Bravo! We will eventually get you to be as tough as nails." Erza calmly stated. "Now repeat that the other five times."

Lucy gulped as the sound of some rustling was heard to their right. Levy, Lucy and Juvia went wide eyed. Erza kept her cool as she sneakily headed over to try and see who was eavesdropping. An elderly man from the town, Erza assumed, was the culprit and once he realized he was made, he yelped and ran away.

"Shit! Clean up! We need to find a different place to train you." Erza said as she turned quickly on her heel.

The girls agreed and packed up the small amount of items that they were using and headed south around the outskirts of the town.

 **~At the Sheriff's Office~**

All was quiet until an elderly man ran into the sheriff's office in a panic. He kept trying to tell them who he saw, but no coherent words were coming out of his mouth.

"What seems to be the problem?" Redfox calmly inquired trying to get the man to spit out what he was having a hard time saying.

This garnered the attention of the other officers in the building, which included Natsu, Gray and Jellal.

"Four women. Shooting. Hill. West side." the man finally spat out.

The four officers all looked at each other.

"Stay here. I am going to check it out." Fernandes stated. "It could be they were just trying to prepare themselves in case they had to defend themselves. And if they saw him, they probably left that location in a hurry scared."

The three nodded and calmed the man down as Jellal headed west to the hill. He hoped as he thought to himself that it wasn't the Renegade Runaways, and since the old man said there were four, he highly doubted it. However, with Erza, you never know. She may have acquired a new member.

When he arrived all he found were expelled casings from a gun, a can that was left behind with two bullet holes across from each other. He shrugged and since there was no sight of anyone around, he headed back to the station to find the old man had gone.

"Find anything?"

"No." he answered Natsu, but then paused. "Well, no person. I did see some shell casings and a can with two holes in it, but no one was around."

"Think he was 'crying wolf'?" Redfox asked.

"I hope not. Because we have to believe him if he says he saw them again, or anyone really."

 **~Fairy Tail Inn & Saloon~**

Mira and her sister were cleaning the bar area of the saloon when Lucy and her friends left the building, requesting some fresh towels, if possible. Mira complied and said she'd have it taken care of before they returned.

An hour later, Lisanna finally made her way up the stairs to freshen up the two rented rooms, passing a group of men leaving the same floor she was heading up to in a hurry. She did not think twice of it before she noticed the door to the single room Lucy was renting was wide open. Cautiously, Lisanna went to the doorway and quickly ran back downstairs to find her sister.

"MIRA!" she frantically yelled.

"What is it?"

"Miss Heartfilia's room is trashed! And I mean a mess!"

Mira almost dropped the glass she was cleaning before getting out from behind the bar and heading upstairs with her sister.

"ELFMAN! Watch the doors!" she called as she went upstairs.

Once they arrived at the room, Mira was both worried and pissed. Worried for Lucy's sake and pissed because the room had just been renovated. She let out an angry growl before taking her sister's wrist and dragging her out the door.

"Come on! We need to go to the sheriff."

Lisanna, having no other choice, complied and went with her sister. They let their brother know that he had to watch both the inn's front desk and the bar while they were out.

 **~In the Sheriff's Office~**

Just as Jellal had finished his prior statement, the door swung open and in came Mira and Lisanna out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Fullbuster asked worried.

"No." Mira answered as she held up her finger telling them to wait a minute so they could catch their breath.

A few moments later, they were able to speak.

"Someone trashed Miss Heartfilia's room. And I mean trashed it." Mira said frantic.

"I saw a group of men leaving in a hurry as I was heading up the stairs, and found her door wide open and everything strewn all over the place, but she had gone out earlier in the morning with a friend." Lisanna added.

Natsu and Gajeel looked at each other in a panic and then to Jellal.

"Go find Miss Heartfilia and this friend of hers, Dragneel." someone barked from behind.

The guys turned around and saw the sheriff himself standing there out of his office door. He nodded and headed out to search for the girls, along with Gajeel's help.

"Fernandes. Fullbuster. Escort Miss Strauss and Miss Lisanna back to Fairy Tail and look for any clues. We need to find out who is after her." he ordered as the door swung open once again.

"Sheriff, reports Tartaros is in town." another officer stated. "They seem to be searching for someone or something."

"Thank you Mest. Stay here while we organize."

Jellal and Gray and went with Mira and Lisanna back to their saloon while the sheriff was rounding up his officers for an immediate mandatory meeting.

 **~In Fairy Tail Saloon & Inn~**

As soon as Jellal and Gray arrived with his sisters, Elfman went back to the inn's desk leaving the bar in his sister's capable hands. Lisanna brought the Gray up to Lucy's private room while Jellal went to the front desk.

"Let me see the ledger." he all but ordered Elfman, who complied by pointing to it. "It just sits here, right?"

"Yes. Although I don't ever leave it open." Elfman finally realized.

Jellal looked down and there right in front of him, was Lucy's name clearly written.

"Shit! That's how they knew where she was."

"Are we in trouble?"

"For leaving the book like that? No. You're fine since that's how most inns run things. I suggest you start putting it under the counter though from now on."

"Sure thing Assistant Deputy." he said as he took the book off the counter and placed it in a drawer.

"What about her friend? Miss McGarden?"

"Friend? Oh the little one with the short blue hair?" Jellal nodded.

"She is in her own room with two other women as far as I know." Jellal raised his eyebrow.

"I didn't see her name on the ledger."

Elfman was puzzled so he looked at the ledger again and stood up and yelled over to Mira who came right over.

"What's up Elfman?"

"Miss McGarden. She's not on the ledger. And I know she wasn't sharing a room with Miss Heartfilia."

Mira went wide eyed.

"Oh dear me!" she faked as she took the ledger from her brother. "I guess I must have forgotten to put her down. She's staying in suite four with two other lovely young women." she explained. "I am so sorry, Assistant Deputy Fernandes. It must have slipped my mind when I was organizing their rooms since Miss Heartfilia has been paying for both."

"Why would she be paying for two rooms?"

"Something about her father not wanting her traveling with friends since he doesn't approve of her doing anything independent. I have just been making her bill, as it were, look like one large suite."

Jellal raised his eyebrow, but eventually let it go. He headed up the stairs and walked towards suite four. He stood close to the door and put his ear to it to see if he could hear anyone inside.

"A-hem." someone cleared their throat.

Jellal jumped at the sound and saw Lisanna standing there with her arms folded and a raised eyebrow. He let out a nervous laugh.

"How long have you been standing there?" he asked wide-eyed.

"A few moments. I saw you come up, but when you didn't come to Miss Heartfilia's room, I got curious." she explained. "Now, why would an Assistant Deputy be ear to door of another guest's room?"

"This is Miss McGarden's room, right?" Lisanna realized it was and nodded. "Have you checked this one?" she shook her head. "So, for the sake of security, I should, right?

"I guess, but since this door wasn't left wide open, it didn't occur to me to check this one too."

Jellal smiled and knocked. When no one answered, he carefully opened it. Once given the all clear, Lisanna went inside.

"Anything seem out of place?"

Lisanna looked around and shook her head.

"No, everything's normal. Nothing broken. Nothing strewn all over the floor."

Jellal nodded and ushered her back outside the door. She then led him to Lucy's room where he met up with Gray.

"Anything?"

"Hard to say. It doesn't look like she came with much here. Just an extra dress and some other personal belongings." Fullbuster answered. "It's hard to tell if anything was taken when she's not here to help go through her items. The window is broken, but the doors are not."

"So one came through the window and let the others in through the balcony." Jellal said as he walked to the balcony, which was left wide open. He shook his head before turning around. "Stay here in case she gets back. I'm going to help search for her."

"Yes, sir." Gray obliged.

"And keep an eye out for anyone heading into suite four. Find out if anything was taken."

Gray nodded as his superior officer left the room.

Jellal went down the stairs and passed a woman with blue hair and a navy blue dress on that was looking toward the floor as she climbed the stairs. He had to take a double take realizing it might have been one of the Runaways, but he let her go. They had a missing heiress to find first.

He ventured out of the saloon and made his way south through the town, but in reality he was heading home. Jellal had a gut feeling, and usually his gut feelings proved to be worth following.

 **~With the Runaways~**

The girls made it to the south edge of town and stopped to rest.

"I think we should split up again." Erza stated causing the girls stare at her. "Before you ask why, it's because I have no doubt that that elderly man just ran to the sheriff's office and they checked the hill, only to find us gone. I am also sure that the officers have now been told to officially look for us."

"And if we're together, it wouldn't be good." Levy commented.

"Exactly. And as far as anyone knows, Lucy and you are friends traveling together. It can stay that way for the time being."

"So the two of us can pair up?"

"Yes." she answered Lucy. "Juvia and I will be the only two not paired up for the sake of security."

Juvia nodded at the statement.

"Juvia thinks she will just head back to the saloon and hang out there until everyone's return later."

The three looked at her, slightly in shock. For the past two days, when she spoke, she started her third person tongue again, and that worried both Erza and Levy, while Lucy found it creepy and adorable at the same time.

The four split up and Lucy and Levy made their way through town slowly, walking along the canal that ran through its almost center.

"This is such a nice town." Levy commented. "Too bad we have to make an example of the corrupt mayor in two days."

"If we don't get made or caught by then." Lucy half teased. "We're going to be extra careful now since we've been spotted."

"Well, Erza and Juvia have. As far as anyone knows you are not a part of the group just yet, and I have never been associated with them."

"The ghost."

"Yes!" Levy said and then laughed.

The two were so engaged in their conversation that they didn't hear anyone walking up from behind. The figures grabbed Lucy and Levy, covering their mouths with their hands, and did not let them go.

Because the girls were in a semi-public place and weren't trying to expose themselves as the Runaways, the girls screamed, even if their screams were muffled.

"Relax Miss Heartfilia. We're only here because we need you. Your friend here is just a bonus." one of the men stated as he came around from behind. "You can uncover her mouth, as long as she doesn't struggle."

"Who are you?"

"Why, I'm Jackal, one of the members of Tartaros." he introduced. "And we need your help."

"With what exactly?"

"Why, to get your fortune, of course."

"I would never - "

"Ah. Ah. Aaah." he replied waving his right index finger. "Be careful Miss Heartfilia. You don't want your friend here to have a little accident." he added as he gently brushed a few strands of Levy's hair off of her neck.

Both Levy and Lucy tensed in their captive positions at the comment.

"What do we do Lucy?" Levy whispered.

"I..don't…know." Lucy answered as she watched Jackal and his left hand, which had a pistol.

"You see Miss Heartfilia, your father has issued a reward for your safe return, but we'd prefer to take everything from you, so we think holding you as ransom instead of this 'runaway' reward would be a whole lot better." Jackal started to explain.

"Why am I not surprised he would go to such lengths?" she asked rhetorically as she shook her head. "Look, I don't plan on returning. And IF you did bring me back, I'd just run away again. I've left that life behind. That's why I ran away."

"Doesn't matter to us. Once we get what we want, he'll have no more money to give out as a reward." Jackal replied as he pointed the gun at Levy's left temple. "Now, your friend here, we have no use for. And we can't let her escape or else she'll squeal. I think it would be best if we just got rid of her now."

Levy closed her eyes and a tear fell out of the corner of it.

"Please! Please don't kill me!" she pleaded.

Jackal grinned as he moved the gun away from her head.

"Begging won't help you, my dear." he stated in her ear.

"NO! But we will!" came another voice.

Lucy wasn't sure what happened, but she did know the two were now both on the ground and their assailants were fighting with two officers. Jackal grabbed Lucy by her arm and dragged her away.

"LEVY! NATSU! HELP!" she screamed.

"LUCY!" Levy yelled back as she started to ran after her friend, but was stopped. "HEY! Gajeel Redfox! PUT ME DOWN!" she yelled as she wiggled in his tight grasp.

"Relax. Natsu's got her!" he said as he put her down.

Levy, confused, looked in the direction Lucy was being dragged to find Natsu was running after her.

"He had better!"

As soon as he heard his name being called by Lucy, he gave the guy he was fighting one more good punch knocking him to the ground, and he ran after Lucy and her assailant. It took a few minutes to catch up with them wile Jackal weaved through the different streets, but he did catch up with them.

"STOP! NOW!" Natsu yelled as his gun was drawn near point blank range.

The would-be kidnapper whipped around, pointing his gun at Lucy's temple as she fought to break free from his grasp, and devilishly grinned.

"Careful Officer Dragneel. You don't want this pretty little thing to get hurt."

Natsu raised an eyebrow as he kept his aim at his target.

"Let. Her. Go."

Jackal waited a few moments before replying.

"Um. No." he said and the kicked Natsu's gun out of his hands.

Natsu lunged at him, causing Jackal to let go of Lucy. She quickly looked for Natsu's gun and scrambled to get it. Once it was in her hand, she trembled with the thought of trying to aim and shoot.

" _Point. Aim. Shoot. Come on Lucy! It's not that hard._ " she thought to herself as her target kept moving as he fought with Natsu. " _Wait for your chance. Then take it."_ she kept thinking as she aimed the pistol. " _He's part of the bandits that killed your mom. Picture it. Picture him being the one who shot her._ "

She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, exhaled as she opened her eyes, found her shot, and fired. She swallowed as she watched the shocked expression in her attacker as he fell to the ground. Lucy didn't see that Natsu had turned around and was looking just as shocked at her. He ran over to her and took his gun from her hands gently and put it back in his holster before directing his full attention to her.

"Miss Heartfilia? Are you okay?" he asked her. "Hello?" he said as he waved his hand in front of her.

"Huh? What?" Lucy replied as she snapped out of her trance blinking her eyes a multitude of times.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." she said as he stood up and then helped her up. "Did I really just do that?"

"Yes. That was one helluva lucky shot. Right in the forehead." Natsu slightly teased.

"LUCY!"

Lucy turned to see Levy running towards her, with Gajeel following her. A couple of glances and nods later, the two officers were escorting Lucy and Levy back to their inn. After a few minutes of talking with Mira about the state of her room, Levy and Lucy went up to see if anything was taken. She gathered her belongings and joined Juvia and Levy in their room meeting Officer Fullbuster in the process, while Mira's friends Jet and Droy helped fix the room again. The officer left to leave the girls in peace.

"So, how long have you been talking to Officer Fullbuster?" Lucy asked noting the officer's extended stay in the room.

"Uh..oh..well, once he heard me opening the door, he came over Juvia guesses. He told me about what happened and wanted Juvia to check the room to make sure none of our stuff was taken."

"Juvia?" Levy questioned.

"Yes?" she replied nervously.

"You wouldn't happen to talk in the third person when you're nervous, would you?"

"Uh…ah…well…um..maybe?"

Levy and Lucy smiled at the girl.

"And you are nervous because you like that officer, don't you?" Lucy asked receiving a slow nod as a response.

"AWWW!" Levy and Lucy chimed.

"Wait until Erza hears about this one!"

"No…Levy…you don't have to tell her…" Juvia started embarrassed.

"Where is she by the way?" Lucy asked.

"Still out I guess."

"Well, while we're waiting, spill about what you did when he was here." Levy said as she sat down. "And we want all the details." she added causing Juvia to nervously swallow.

 **~With Erza~**

Erza wasn't sure where she was walking to exactly, but she meandered around the town for far more than necessary. She noticed the frantic patrols of officers, and was warned by more than one of them that she shouldn't be walking around alone. She obliged the officer's concern and said she would head to where she was staying right away.

It wasn't until she saw Jellal walking slowly by himself mid-afternoon near where she saw him the day before.

"Hmm..I wonder if he lives around here." she said out loud to herself.

Pursing her lips she carefully followed him quite a number of paces behind. He eventually arrived at a small house that also had a small stable and area for his horse to roam, which was still in the paddock. Once Erza saw him go inside, she carefully approached the structure, but kept her distance hiding behind a tree. While she kept glancing at him, watching him feed his horse, and then go back inside, she kept her position. She turned away and blushed. She was, in a way, acting like a school-girl, and she should be more embarrassed, but she wasn't.

However, since her guard was down, she didn't hear anyone approaching her, so when she heard the click of a gun on her right side, she jumped and got wide-eyed.

"ERZA? What the hell?" Jellal responded noting his trespasser. "Why are you here?"

She slowly turned her head after catching her breath.

"I - I saw you walking."

"So you decided to follow me to my house? You of all people should know how bad of an idea that was." he semi scolded as he put his gun away and then grabbed her wrist. "Come on. You shouldn't be out in the open. And if I'm seen with you, I'm screwed."

She didn't fight him, nor try to get out of his grasp. She walked with him inside his house. Erza stopped short once they were inside as he closed the door.

"What?" he asked noting her gaze.

"Nothing." she said nervously. "Just admiring the simpleness of the house."

Jellal shook his head as he took his belt off and placed it on the table.

"Before we talk I highly suggest that you disarm yourself too, and I do mean all of them."

Erza went wide-eyed and then formed a playful glint in her eyes that did not go unnoticed.

"All of them?" she innocently asked as she walked towards him causing him to raise an eyebrow and nod. "Then, I may need your help Assistant Deputy Fernandes." she teased as she wrapped her arms around him grinning.

* * *

 **A/N 2:** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to your reviews for your reactions.

 **Thanks to the following users for following: RoseShepard, 31, and StraniqueGirl0684.**

 **Thanks to the following user for adding this story to your favorites: RoseShepard**

 **Apologies to: BoaHankockLuffy and Lupineia. Thanks for following. I didn't receive an email notification that you added this to your favorites.**

 **Review Responses :**

 **StraniqueGirl0684: In due time...in due time. I have an outline, of sorts, set up for this story. I am trying write off the heist/robbery now, but nothing I am doing is satisfying me (I am being really picky since this story isn't going to be that long and I can't drag it out).**

 **fairy-jane-ever-123: Someone probably reblogged it from lindako..but that's cool. I am glad you found it on there (and I also post it on there).**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N 1: Thank you to the ever talented Tumblr user lindako for the awesome cover art! She also has an account on Deviant Art (lindako).**

 **(** Again, based on Carried Underwood's song, _Renegade Runaway_ , so if you want to hear it, you can listen to the track with the lyric video. (Search for it on YouTube) **.** )

* * *

 **Chapter** **Five: Devil in a Satin Dress**

The sunlight was shining through the window of the room, right onto Erza's face, which caused her to wake up. She blinked her eyes a couple of times as she awoke and processed what had happened the night before. It was then she felt arms wrapped around her waist and it dawned on her.

She had spent the night at Jellal's. The two had one steamy and passionate night. She let out small laugh as she carefully climbed out of the bed and quietly got dressed as she found her clothes on the floor.

Erza made her way to his bedroom door, looked back and swallowed, and then snuck out of the house. She thought he was out cold, but in reality, he was awake but pretending. After he was sure she was clear, he slowly sat up and looked at the his clothes strewn about the floor and grinned.

"Devil in a satin dress." he said out loud. "But I'll always love you." he added to no one in particular.

Jellal got up and made his way back to work with a small smile on his face.

 **~Fairy Tail Inn & Saloon~**

The girls woke up slowly and quickly got dressed in case they had any unexpected visitors. It wasn't until they were all done that they noticed that Erza wasn't there.

"Did…uh..did Erza even come back last night?" Lucy questioned as she waved her pointed thumb over to Erza's bed.

Juvia and Levy looked at the bed, then each other, and then Lucy and shrugged.

"I have no idea."

"We are both heavy sleepers." Juvia added confused as the door was being open.

The three whipped their heads over to the door to find Erza now walking in and they simultaneously raised their eyebrows.

Erza froze in place, surprised she was caught and the three were up.

"I am guessing saying I got up for an early morning stroll wouldn't be believed."

The girls smiled.

"Not when your hair is that out of character." Levy teased. "I know you know better than to go out with a disheveled appearance."

Erza was quiet.

"So, uh, where were you?" Lucy inquired as Erza went over to grab her stuff to freshen up.

"Um, nowhere special." she tried to play coyly as she darted off into the bathroom.

Juvia waited until the door was closed.

"Juvia does not think Erza will be informing us of her evening."

"I think you're right Juvia, but we can at least inform Erza about _our_ day yesterday." Levy grinned as she put her arm around Lucy. "I am one hundred percent sure that she will want to hear about your shot."

"Right. But first, shall we get breakfast?"

"Yeah. I'll go get it." Levy offered and then headed to the door.

Levy headed down the stairs to see Mira about breakfast, which she was more than happy to whip up and send up once it was done. Levy then headed back upstairs to join the girls.

Erza came out of the bathroom a little while later and joined the girls just after their breakfast was delivered.

"I think we should continue your training today, Lucy." Erza stated as the three got quiet and then giggled. "What? What did I miss?"

Levy swallowed what food she had in her mouth before telling Erza.

"I don't think training her to shoot will be too hard now." she started causing Erza to give her a befuddled expression. "When Lucy and I were on our way back here, we were surprised attacked by three members of Tartaros. Officers Dragneel and Redfox did come to our aide since we were playing the 'damsel in distress' card for the most part."

"Once the main guy, Jackal, was free, he took me and dragged me off somewhere, but Officer Dragneel was on our tail. He caught up to us, engaged a fight with Jackal, his gun got knocked out of his hands, and I grabbed it and shot Jackal."

Erza raised her eyebrow.

"Okay?"

Levy giggled some more.

"You don't understand, E. Lucy shot Jackal right in his forehead." Levy paused for dramatic effect. "Dead center." she added as she pointed to her the spot where Lucy hit him.

Erza turned to Lucy and grinned.

"I am very pleased to hear that. We'll check your aim later and then continue with training you for physical fighting." she responded and then paused. "I guess that one was one helluva lucky shot."

"THAT'S IT!" Juvia yelled causing the three to jump.

Lucy choked.

"What?"

"Lucky Lucy Heartfilia! That's you! We can call you that." Juvia spurted out. "I mean, Erza is 'Titania' afterall, snd Levy is 'The Strategist'. Juvia is 'Water Woman'."

Lucy got quiet.

"You all right?" Erza asked worried.

"Uh, that's actually not a nickname I haven't heard before. To be honest, the other kids in my hometown used to call me that. They had a harsh chant too that went along with it." Lucy confessed not expecting to ever bring that up.

"Seriously?" Levy questioned. Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, it's not something I ever want to hear again, even by my own mouth." she answered and then shuddered. "But if we use it because of my miracle shot, then I am okay with it."

The girls continued to eat while discussing the plan.

"Okay, so tomorrow we're going to attack the mayor. How exactly?" Erza questioned as she turned to Levy.

"Well, due to Tartaros now being in town, I suspect it might be harder to get to him." Levy started. "But I am not saying it can't be done."

"What are we robbing him of, anyway?" Lucy inquired.

"He has a safe in his office with a shitload of money he's stolen from the townspeople saying that it was taxes and the federal government needs it." Erza answered. "He took what one man and woman saved for the new add-on to their house, so now they are stuck in a home not large enough for their growing family. They have three kids now, but are now expecting another."

"And from what Juvia understands, it was a large amount of money to hire someone to fix their house. And they've been meaning to enlarge it for a while now."

Lucy swallowed.

"Why are politicians so corrupt, anyway?" she asked rhetorically as she looked down at the empty plate before her.

"We need an in to the mayor's office tomorrow." Erza stated. "Got any ideas how?"

Since no one answered Lucy looked up to see the three of them looking at her.

"Me?" she asked shocked. "Uh, well, we can maybe try to use my status as an in. I mean, I can always complain that the sheriff's office hasn't done enough for my safety and I should never have had to shoot a man with my 'delicate' hands." Lucy added and then sighed. "But that wouldn't be the total truth. Natsu and Gajeel came to our rescue while they were looking for me."

"No, you're right, but we can go along the same lines there." Levy said and then trailed. "If you, instead, ask what else can be done for your safety, and for the town, it might be better."

As they continued to discuss the plan now that they had a way in. Afterwards, Lucy send a request for a meeting for the next day at the planned time to the mayor and waited to receive a response.

 **~Sheriff's Office~**

Jellal arrived with a few minutes to spare before Laxus came in.

"Why are you smiling?" he asked confused. "You always have a scowl or a general serious expression?"

"No particular reason, Laxus. What's up?"

"Meeting in ten minutes. We have news to share with everyone."

Jellal nodded and got up and headed out with told him about a mandatory meeting. Once everyone had settled, Sheriff Makarov Dreyar started the meeting.

"As you gentlemen very well know, our town's guest, Miss Heartfilia, and her friend were attacked yesterday along the canal by three members of Tartaros. Due to the quick actions of two of our own, the three were able to be subdued. However, in the scuffle, one was shot. This is a big victory for us, but a blow to Tartaros, who very well may retaliate by sending more of their group here."

"Or worse." Fernandes mumbled causing his superior to look at him. "If they were after Miss Heartfilia, and her alone, they could go after her father." he explained.

The two higher officers, and Laxus, all nodded their heads in agreement.

"True. We will send word to the Heartfilia estate for his security to be raised." Deputy Gildarts Clive stated. "Actually, I will go do that now." he said as he headed out of the larger room.

"While he is doing that," Assistant Deputy Dreyar started and the looked at Natsu and Gajeel, "Dragneel and Redfox get up here."

The two gulped as they followed orders.

"For your quick action, the mayor has declared that you two be given special honors for the capture of the Tartaros member and rescue of Miss Heartfilia and Miss McGarden." Makarov explained as he and Laxus pinned something on their uniforms. "Your fathers would be very proud of you two." he added semi-quietly.

After a small round of applause for congratulations, the sheriff continued his meeting, but his deputy came running in frantic.

"Is there a problem, Clive?"

"Yes sir. We were too late." he started causing the sheriff to raise an eyebrow. "I went to send word to the Heartfilia estate, but we actually had just received word that Mr. Jude Heartfilia has been killed, and that Tartaros are taking the credit for the attack."

Dozens of hushed whispers filled the room.

"All right! Settle down! We now need to ensure the safety of Miss Heartfilia so that she can carry on her responsibilities of being one of our important members of our higher society." the sheriff scolded. "Dragneel. Redfox. Go to the Fairy Tail Inn and Saloon and protect her."

"Should we…uh…tell her the news?" Redfox asked.

"Yes, but do it carefully. You don't want her passing out and hitting her head on something causing her more harm." Assistant Deputy Dreyar answered. "I'll join them and check out the inn and saloon to make sure all is well."

Once the meeting was over, the three headed over to the saloon, along with Gray and Jellal who Laxus dragged with him. Once at the saloon, the two headed upstairs while Laxus, Jellal and Gray made their way over to the bar to talk to Mira. Gray separated from them and headed into the entrance to the inn to talk to Elfman. Once he heard Mira gasp, he knew Laxus just told her about Mr. Heartfilia.

Meanwhile, Natsu and Gajeel trudged up the stairs heading to suite four where Lucy was rumored to be staying with her friends. Natsu lightly knocked on the door. It was opened, but not by who they thought.

"Miss Lisanna." Redfox greeted.

"Oh, hello gentlemen. The guests in this room headed out for the day about twenty minutes ago."

"Do you know when they'll be back?" Dragneel asked.

"No. Sorry." she answered as she shook her head.

"Okay. I guess we should go look for them." Redfox commented as he tugged at his coworker.

Gajeel and Natsu headed downstairs with Lisanna, and then informed Gray that they had to go look for Lucy and requested for him to keep an eye out in case they returned.

"Where should we start?"

"Probably along the canal." Dragneel answered not really sure where to go.

"Split up."

"What?"

"Go west. I'll go east. Go around the town first. Whatever officers we can find, request they help by giving them an area."

"Okay. West side all mine. East side all yours. Any officer you come across, tell them to go in certain quadrants or divided it more."

Gajeel nodded.

The two went their separate ways. Gajeel waited a few moments before he kicked the side of his horse to get it to move.

"Let's go Lily!"

Gajeel rode to the east side and carefully went along the far side of town. He found a couple of officers whom he directed to help in the search, which they gladly obliged to do.

Once they were off, he continued on his way. He heard some shots fired in the distance and carefully approached where they were coming from. He found the girls there, with Lucy holding the gun as she pointed it to a bunch of cans. He quietly watched as she shot the gun and hit every single one of the cans without hesitation. If he didn't find it so amusing, and let out a small giggle, he wouldn't have been noticed.

"Shit!" he said to himself as the four panicked. "I'M NOT GOING TO ARREST YOU!" he yelled causing them to stop.

"HUH?" Erza replied.

"Officer Redfox?" Levy questioned as he approached them.

"Look, I now recognize who the two of you are, and I know who you are Miss Heartfilia, but you're the third member?" he asked turning to Levy who nodded.

"You three could kill me where I stand, so I am not going to fight you. I am only here because I have news for Miss Heartfilia, no matter who her friends are."

Lucy got wide-eyed.

"News? What news?"

"You may want to sit down."

Lucy did as was told and sat down on the boulder beside her and looked at him.

"Okay, so I am not sure the best way to tell you this, but Tartaros, after hearing that their attempt to take you yesterday failed, ended up attacking your father."

"My father?" Lucy questioned and then looked at him again. "Wait! How is he? Is he okay?" she asked frantic as Levy sat next to her.

Gajeel was quiet. It looked to Lucy as if he was searching for the right words to tell her.

"He's not, is he Gajeel?" Juvia asked snapping him out of whatever trance he was in.

"Have we met?" he asked puzzled and then grinned. Gajeel then turned to face Lucy once again and got serious. "No. Unfortunately not."

"They killed him too." Lucy stated. Not questioning the news that Gajeel was sent to deliver.

"We are sorry. All of the officers."

Lucy gave him a small smile and nod.

"Thank you. As much as he and I didn't get along, he was my father and deep down I did love him."

There was an awkward silence between the group before Gajeel cleared his throat.

"I am going to pretend I didn't see the Renegade Runaways with you." he stated, "But I can only pretend for so long." The girls widened their eyes at the comment. He looked over to Levy and grinned at her. "It's best for all of us, don't you think, shorty?" he added before he mounted his horse, tipped his hat, and quickly rode off.

Levy, with her puffed and reddened cheeks, didn't have enough time to respond before he got away.

"WHY THAT!" Levy yelled frustrated causing the girls to laugh.

"I think Gajeel said that on purpose." Juvia commented.

"Huh?" Levy said puzzled. "And what is with you calling him by his first name?"

"Oh, well, I think he wanted to make Lucy smile." Juvia quickly answered and then got quiet. "And, as far as your question, Gajeel was the one that helped Juvia get out of Phantom Lord."

"Great! So there are two of us with a history with officers in this town." Erza half-complained.

"But Juvia does not like Gajeel like you are in love with Officer Fernandes." she said defensively.

"That's okay. Lucy kind of likes Officer Dragneel." Levy chided.

"LEVY! I do not!"

"Then why did you call out to him after calling me when Jackal was taking you away?" Levy retorted causing Lucy to close her mouth. "Ha! It's true!"

Lucy folded in her arms. When it came down to it, she thought Natsu was a nice guy. Not bad looking either. And from what Levy had previously told her, he liked her too. However, being a Renegade Runaway had its disadvantages as Erza's relationship with Jellal proved. He was the law and she was a soon-to-be criminal once everyone heard or saw her helping the girls.

"Do you think he'll keep his word and not tell anyone he saw us?" Erza asked Juvia.

"Juvia thinks so. Gajeel is honorable like that."

Erza nodded as they started to pack up.

"I can, at least, agree with Levy, Lucy. You don't need anymore training with the pistol, but we do still need to work on your defense. So, after this job is completed, we'll do that."

"Okay." Lucy said with a small smile. "I can't help but still feel like I am in danger. I mean, Jackal did say they wanted my money, which now is officially mine since they got rid of my father."

"We'll have to up our security on you too before leaving town."

"Maybe change inns?" Juvia suggested. "Juvia means, Mira, Lisanna and Elfman are great, but if Tartaros knows where you are staying, maybe a new location would be better?"

"I have to agree with Juvia, girls." Lucy stated. "As much as they have been hospitable, I don't want to cause Mira and them anymore problems. We can stay one more night and check out in the morning."

"Plus, we are going to be leaving in a hurry anyway tomorrow after we succeed with out plan." Levy added.

"I concur. We will check out in the morning and act." Erza eventually replied after absorbing their thoughts. "For right now, if Gajeel was looking for you Lucy, we should probably head back to the inn so the officers can keep an eye on you, like it seems they want to do."

"Okay. Levy and I will head over first. You two be careful. Don't be spotted." Lucy warned as she quickly put her long blonde tresses up.

Juvia and Erza nodded and watched as Lucy and Levy made their way back to the inn. The two gave their friends a good twenty minute head start before heading into town themselves.

Once at the inn, Lucy and Levy said hello to Mira and Levy headed up the stairs while Lucy informed Elfman and Mira that this would be their last night there.

"Oh, really? I am sorry to hear that!"

"It's not something we did I hope?" Elfman asked worried.

"No, no. Not at all." Lucy said laughing. "I just don't want Tartaros to make a mess of this place again if they come searching for me. My friends and I decided that a new location might be better after tonight."

"Okay, well we'll be sorry to see you leave, but don't be a stranger." Mira said with a smirk and then leaned in closer to Lucy. "Tell Erza, Juvia and Levy that I think it's great what they are doing. We support them one hundred percent."

Lucy went white. Almost as white as Mira's hair.

"What?" she eventually whispered.

"I thought I recognized them from the wanted poster, but I never said anything. You have our full support, even if you don't have the law's." Mira said with a wink. "I'll send up some food in a little while." she said louder as she walked towards the bar leaving Lucy confused.

Lucy looked up to Elfman, who just grinned at her before going back to his duty. She then headed up to the room and informed Levy about what just occurred.

Levy was highly amused, but let Lucy know not to let Erza know, since she might not find it as amusing. Lucy agreed, and so the two had yet another secret between the two of them.

* * *

 **A/N 2:** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to your reviews for your reactions.

 **Thanks to the following users for following: Paige'slibrary**

 **Thanks to the following user for adding this story to your favorites: Taiski**

 **Review Responses :**

 **fairy-jane-ever-123: Yes, Jackal is dead. Thanks for the review!**

 **StraniqueGirl0684: I thought the Erza/Jellal scene was fitting. Not really 100% sure why, but I did. Thanks for reviewing!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N 1:** Thank you to the ever talented Tumblr user lindako for the awesome cover art! She also has an account on Deviant Art (lindako).

 **A/N 2:** Sorry for the massive delay in updating. Life, as usual, got in the way. And in reality, I am not even in the mood to update, but since chapter six is finished, I thought I would finally.

 **(** Again, based on Carried Underwood's song, _Renegade Runaway_ , so if you want to hear it, you can listen to the track with the lyric video. (Search for it on YouTube). **)**

* * *

 **Chapter** **Six** **:** **Her Hair Trigger**

It wasn't long after all of the girls arrived at the room that someone was knocking on the door. They all quieted down and waited for Lucy to answer to see who was knocking. She opened the door to find three armed officers.

"How can I help you three?" she asked them.

"Sorry to intrude, are you and your friends decent?" Officer Redfox inquired.

"Uh, not really. Give us a few moments." Lucy replied nervously.

"Sure, thing, miss. We'll be out here waiting."

Lucy nodded and closed the door.

"Uh, I think we have a problem. Get freshened up and suitable for company." Lucy half-ordered.

The girls nodded and Erza chose to hide in the bathroom.

"Why in here?" Lucy asked curiously in a whisper.

"I have no where else to go. I am the most recognizable of all of us. Juvia has yet to be recognized by Gray, which is saying something."

"So you're going to hide in the tub hoping you don't get caught?" Levy whispered.

Erza shrugged causing the girls to do so as well.

"Okay. We'll try to keep them out of here as much as we can." Lucy stated and then closed the door.

The two walked back into the sitting room area and Juvia let them in when Lucy gave the signal.

"Sorry to intrude, Miss Heartfilia, but we have been ordered to keep you and your friends out of danger." Fullbuster explained once the three were inside the room.

"So, you plan on invading our privacy at all hours?" Lucy asked.

"We hoped it wouldn't feel like that." Dragneel commented.

"Gee, now I feel like I AM back home at the estate." the heiress said to the side.

"Why don't we make the most of it?" Levy inquired causing her friends to become confused, as well as the three officers. "Okay, so instead of being cooped up in here all afternoon, we could always go out and for a walk and enjoy this nice weather." she suggested remembering that Erza would have it worse being locked up in a bathroom the entire time they were here.

"Juvia thinks that is a great idea!"

The guys nodded and decided to split up and pair up. Lucy went with Natsu, Juvia went with Gray and that left Levy with Gajeel. If the three could get through the rest of the day, and evening, the morning should be a breeze if they told the guys that they'd be leaving in the morning. Or, that's at least how they hoped it would be.

Once the group of six left the room, Erza came out of the bathroom and smiled. Leave it to Levy to think of an alternate plan. She'd just have to keep her ears peeled for sounds of their return. She took this time to rest up while she could get some sleep.

 **~Natsu & Lucy~**

The two walked side by side along the peaceful streets of Magnolia and talked more about a variety of topics. Natsu stopped walking when he realized he was at the spot he rescued Lucy.

"What's the matter, Officer Dragneel?" she asked concerned.

He snapped his head in his direction.

"I thought I told you to call me Natsu?" he asked smiling.

"You did. I was just seeing if you were going to catch it." she teased.

"Oh, well, I did, and this is the spot where I rescued you the other day."

Lucy looked around.

"So it is."

"And where you shot Jackal."

"Yes." she replied in a hushed tone. "I still can't believe I was able to shoot him in the forehead."

"Neither can I. That kind of shot is one helluva lucky one. And you were lucky too getting it."

"That's me." she said with a sigh. "' _Lucky Lucy Heartfilia_ '." she added as she let out a deep exhale.

"A nickname?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, not in a very good way." Lucy inhaled. "I am…or is it 'was' now? In any case, With being the daughter of a successful business man, and I had these high expectations placed on me since the day I was born. My mother was killed, as you already know, by Tartaros, who is now after me. Growing up I could never make friends, and when I went to my father he always told me friends are for those who can't succeed on their own. I didn't think having friends was a bad thing, but he did. He told me not to worry because once I was married I wouldn't need friends." she explained and rolled her eyes. "Anyway, when I was growing up, the kids in town never wanted to be my friend and they tormented me. They had this little chant too, which really upset me."

"I can see it's not something you like to talk about."

"No, not really, but with you I guess it's okay." she replied with a small shrug of her shoulders.

"If you don't mind me asking, what was the chant? Of course, that's if you remember it."

Lucy let out a small laugh.

"If I remember it? Ha! Something like that is burned into my brain." she chuckled. "If you really want to hear it, I guess I could repeat it." Lucy added as she rubbed her nose. She turned to face him. "It went, _Lucky Lucy spends her days swimming in money, but Lucky Lucy has no friends or mommy_."

"That…is…a bit mean." he commented. "But kids are idiots when they are young. I am sure most of them regret not being your friend right now with all that you are going through."

"Yeah, well, if they are, oh well. My father was right about kids back then. I didn't need friends. And the friends I have now are much more accepting and mature."

Natsu smiled at her as the two continued to talk.

 **~With Gray & Juvia~**

As nervous as Juvia was, she was full-on surprised she was able to keep a conversation going with the officer she had recently formed a crush on. He asked her about when she was growing up, and in turn she found out he had a cousin who was an officer in another town.

"So, you said you had a nickname growing up?"

"Uh, yeah," Juvia started realizing if she said it she might give herself away. "But Juvia would rather not say what it is. Juvia will tell you, however, that Juvia got it because she loves being on the water in a boat, especially since she was a little girl fishing with her father."

"Understandable." he agreed. "Did the kids call you mermaid?"

"No." she said with a chuckle. "But Juvia wouldn't have minded that she doesn't think." she added nervously. "But only if Juvia knew how to swim really well."

Gray smiled as the two walked and shared more of their history, at least what they wanted to.

 **~With Gajeel & Levy~**

Before Levy let Gajeel wander off too far, she waited for him to turn around when he realized she wasn't following him.

"Are we walking?" he asked confused.

She walked over to him, stood with her hands on her hips and grinned.

"Sure. There's just something I need to do first."

"And what's that?"

As soon as he asked his question, he regretted it. Levy kicked him in the same chin she had kicked him in before.

"That."

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

"That, my dear Officer Redfox, was for calling me 'shorty' earlier."

"But -"

"Hush!" she scolded. "I HATE it when people make cracks about my height. Yes, I am short, but that doesn't give you the right to constantly tease me about it. So. STOP."

"Okay." he said partially agreeing with her as he rubbed his chin. "You realize you kicked me in the same chin as you did before, right?"

Levy turned around and looked at him, and then smiled.

"So it is." she said amused.

The group of six arrived back at the Fairy Tail Inn & Saloon three hours later. Lisanna quickly sat them down at a semi-secluded table and gave them some menus. Once they finished eating, the girls retired for the night and the guys agreed to keep watch until it was time for their reliefs to arrive.

The morning proved to be tricky. Erza was safe since she snuck out off of the balcony and took all of their sacks with her, planning on hiding them on the outskirts of town before the main event. The girls had all told their escorts that they were checking out of the hotel and would be leaving, but when they went to leave the room, they were surprised to see the three outside their door.

"We have come to escort you three to the train station." Redfox commented. "By order of the sheriff."

Lucy growled.

"I appreciate that, I really do, but I have a meeting with the mayor in twenty minutes, and the girls were going to escort me there. I don't need you to protect me."

Natsu walked closer to her and stood right next to her.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"No. You aren't going. It will have to be canceled."

Lucy raised her eyebrow as she turned to face him. If there was any way of getting him to let her go see the mayor, she had to trick him.

"You mean to tell me, that you won't let me go talk with your mayor when I had this meeting planned? That you'll go against Heartfilia business just to appease your sheriff?"

"Yes."

"Hm, but from what I know, mayors outrank sheriffs, and if I have official business with him, and you're refraining me from going to meet with him, then I guess the Heartfilia Company will refuse to do **any** business with **anyone** from town."

"So, what you're saying is that if I refuse to let you have this meeting with the mayor, then no one here will ever see you again?"

"Smart boy." she said sarcastically. "And I do mean **no one**." she hinted meaning him.

He was quiet, and Lucy could tell that it was registering. She got him and was pleasantly pleased to do so.

"Yeah, so, that's fine." he started and then turned to his coworkers. "We can meet at the train station after your meeting. I'll take Miss Heartfilia to see the mayor so she can go about her business." Natsu finally replied once it set in.

"Deal." Fullbuster replied after a quick nod from Gajeel.

Lucy headed downstairs to officially check out of the inn and settle their bill and then went with Natsu. Meanwhile, the girls secretly tried to figure out a way to get away from the guys to catch up with Lucy and Erza. The two officers brought them down to the saloon and offered to get them some water to relieve them from their parched lips. The girls obliged and waited at a table.

"What do you suggest?" Levy whispered.

"Juvia does not know, but wait until we have a drink and then excuse ourselves to the powder room?"

Levy looked over to see Gajeel and Gray looking back over at them.

"I agree. That might be our best bet."

Once they down their glasses, Lisanna came over and refilled them. Once she was gone, the girls nodded slightly to one another and excused themselves. The boys, now knowing any better, let them go.

The girls headed to the powder room, but snuck out of the building via the entrance from the inn itself.

"Whew! That was lucky!" Levy commented as she and Juvia headed to the mayor's office.

Once there, they had to get into position by the mayor's office window and wait until their cue. Levy peeked inside and saw Lucy walking into the office to talk with the mayor, and by the looks of it, Natsu must have been waiting outside the door.

"We're good. Natsu isn't in there." Levy whispered to Juvia who nodded.

"But where is Erza?"

"She's there somewhere. I can't see her, but I am sure she is inside."

 **~With Natsu & Lucy~**

Natsu, although he really didn't want to, escorted Lucy to the mayor's office.

"So, what is this meeting about?"

"Heartfilia business, Natsu. That's all you really need to know."

"I don't like secrets."

Lucy huffed and stopped walking.

"Look, I don't want to be mean or anything, but I did tell you that I didn't need you with me. The girls and I could have handled ourselves. We are more than capable." she started to explain causing him to open his mouth as if he was about to speak. "And I understand if you are only doing your job by doing what your sheriff and boss told you to do. I admire how honest you are, but when I say that it is not needed, it really isn't."

He smiled and continued to walk slowly. She followed.

"So, you admire me, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Just for my honesty?"

"No. You aren't so bad looking."

After a few more embarrassing moments, they had arrived at the mayor's office. She looked to her right and saw Erza standing conspicuously. Erza gave her a nod before Lucy was directed inside the personal office, while Natsu was forced to hang outside.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Heartfilia."

"Hello sir." Lucy greeted.

"How can I be of assistance? You said that you wanted to discuss your safety."

"As well as the town's."

"Yes, yes. True."

"But first, is your office sound proof? I don't want my unwelcomed body guard to hear anything."

"Yes, but it is always safer to talk softly, don't you agree?"

Lucy nodded.

"Well, I am just wondering how things could have gotten so bad so fast. I mean, I know we didn't inform you of my arrival, but why is my visit here any different than the safety of your own people? You knew the Tartaros gang was in the area, at least, and that they were a threat, did you not?" she spurted out in her best professional tone she could.

"We, uh, we can't afford to raise the security all of the time."

Lucy scoffed.

"I'm sorry." she said and then paused. "Wait, no I am not." she added.

The door opened behind her to reveal Erza holding her gun. She closed the door behind her and grinned. From behind the mayor, his ground level balcony windows opened up and Levy and Juvia walked in.

"Miss Heartfilia! Come stand by me!" the mayor said frantic.

"No thank you, sir. I am fine where I am."

He looked at her completely puzzled. Then it registered and he went bug-eyed.

"Y - You - you are helping them?"

"Maybe this time around, but it might not be my last." Lucy answered as the girls closed in on their target and Erza stood next to her.

Lucy felt Erza sneak a gun into Lucy's back by putting it into the belt.

"Mayor, you are one the MOST corrupted and arrogant assholes that I have ever come across. You say you can't pay for your people's safety, yet you are charging them an arm and a leg just to show you have some sort of police force." Erza started. "And from what I have gathered, your poor sheriff and those under his command are not paid as well as they should be."

"You have no proof!" he said defensively.

"No, but I have a fiancee who has informed me of all of this."

Juvia got closer to the mayor and stuck her gun next to his neck while Levy found the in-office safe and cracked it. Once she opened it, it revealed all sorts of money and written agreements, which Levy leafed through.

"Hey, Erza! He's in league with Tartaros. He has an agreement here and everything stating he'd personally deliver Miss Lucy Heartfilia to Mard Geer by day's end. And they agreed to pay him one hefty sum of one hundred thousand jewels."

"One hundred thousand, huh?" Erza retorted. "I think you got the raw end of that stick, mayor. Lucy is worth a helluva lot more than that, you know."

Levy stuffed the bag she had with the money inside and tore up the contracts he had.

"Now, you can be an honest mayor, since you really do not have the funds for paying your officers." Juvia commented. "And I am pretty sure they won't be happy when they realize you were lying to begin with."

"And how to explain where the money went. No one will believe that **I** had anything to do with this." Lucy added.

Juvia and Erza tied the mayor to his chair and started to leave. Lucy, on her way out, noticed a bowl of fruit on his desk, so she grabbed one of the apples and stuffed it in his mouth.

"Politicians are all pigs." she commented and then left grinning from ear to ear.

The four started to sneak off to the edge of town, but Lucy stopped when she heard a little girl crying and a man yelling at her.

"Lucy?"

"Uh, go ahead, Erza. I'll catch up."

Erza nodded and proceeded to head to where she hid the horses, leading Levy and Juvia.

Lucy made her way down a street closer to where the child's screams were coming from.

"Look Arabelle! I told you. I want you to come with me. Once and for all!"

"No way! I am not yours to just take."

"You are my property."

Lucy was pissed. She was no one's property, and seeing a man threaten another woman by claiming she was only aggravated her more.

"HEY! Is there a problem here?" Lucy called startling the man.

"Go away you flimsy! This is between me and my woman."

"Flimsy? You dare call me a flimsy?" Lucy rhetorically asked as she approached them.

"I need something from her. Know your place you wretched thing."

Lucy raised her eyebrow at the man.

"Look, if you think for one minute that I am going to let you attack her and her child, who is scared half to death, you have another thing coming." she started. "You are a dirty, no good, rotten scoundrel who thinks you can just have your way with any woman you see fit. Robbing her of her dignity and self-worth."

"She's a woman. You have no dignity."

"No, but I have respect and wealth." Lucy said and then grinned. "And a gun." she added as she pulled it out.

The man did a double-take.

"A gun? Why would you need a gun?"

"For protection from scoundrels like you and idiots like Tartaros that want my money." she answered without hesitation. "So, are you going to leave these two alone, or do I have to convince you further?"

The man stood upright and narrowed his eyes.

"She. Is. My. Property. I am taking her with me." he firmly said as he approached her. "Don't make me take you too."

Lucy scoffed.

"As if I would let you." she replied and then looked at the terrified woman and child. "I suggest you get far away from here." she stated to the mother who nodded and ran with her daughter.

It took a few moments for the man to realize what just happened, but when he did, he was even more furious than before.

"YOU!" he said and the lunged at Lucy, who backed away.

The man reached for her neck, but Lucy grabbed his wrists and kicked him in the legs.

"Leave me alone you jackass!"

"NO! You let her get away. I am now claiming you!"

While Lucy dodged the man's attacks, she struggled to get her gun where she wanted it, but she eventually did and shot the man in the chest. When he fell to the ground, she felt a little relief before turning to leave. Once she turned, she saw Jellal and Natsu standing there.

Lucy knew they had no horses directly nearby, and she was far enough away that she could get on hers and run, which she did after a regretful glance to Natsu and Jellal.

"You aren't going to go after her?" Dragneel asked Fernandes.

"No. What she did wasn't right, but I can't see the wrong in it either. She was defending herself against that man, as well as coming to the aide of the other woman."

"But she's in leage with the Runaways. We need to report that to the sheriff."

"Sometimes, Dragneel, it's best to not follow the rules." he answered. "And we could catch them if we had our steeds nearby, but we don't."

Natsu looked at his superior officer confused. He then sighed and the two continued their search for the girls, but Fernandes found a lower ranked officer and told him to take care of the now deceased man.

* * *

 **A/N 3:** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to your reviews for your reactions. And sorry again!

 **Thanks to the following users for following: Wallflowerpower and jwlinder**

 **Thanks to the following user for adding this story to your favorites: Deni-Marie31 (fanfiction does something crazy with periods in usernames in here).**

 **Review Responses :**

 **StraniqueGirl0684: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I have a general idea of how this story is going to go for the last four chapters (ten is already writting surprisingly).**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N 1:** Thank you to the ever talented Tumblr user lindako for the awesome cover art! She also has an account on Deviant Art (lindako).

 **A/N 2:** HOLY! It's been a while! So so so sorry for the delay this time. I guess you can partly say I had writer's block on this story and life got in the way.

 **(** Again, based on Carried Underwood's song, _Renegade Runaway_ , so if you want to hear it, you can listen to the track with the lyric video. (Search for it on YouTube). **)**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: Alive or Dead**

 **~Fairy Tail Inn & Saloon~**

Lisanna Strauss, after finding out that the girls checked out, made her way to the room to do some housekeeping. She went to work cleaning up what had to be done, mainly in the bathroom, and then headed into the main room to strip the beds of the sheets so they could be washed. It was as she was pulling off a pillowcase, that she found the letter in very neat handwriting addressed to her sister. Once she cleaned the room and refitted the beds with clean new sheets, she made here way to the office.

"Mira, you got a second?"

"Of course Lisanna! What's wrong?"

Lisanna came in quietly and as she did, she pulled out the envelope.

"I found this in the room. And it's addressed to you."

Mira, puzzled, took the envelope from her sister and smiled.

"It's Miss Heartfilia's handwriting."

"Oh, okay. I will get back to work."

Mira nodded as her sister left the office leaving her to the paper envelope in her hand. She grabbed her letter opener from her desk and read what Lucy wrote to her.

" _Dear MiraJane & Family,_

 _I want to thank you so much for your kind and generous hospitality on behalf of myself and my friends. You do a great job running your establishment. The food is always delicious and the employees are, without a doubt, top-knotch and reliable. I guess having a close family like you do is worth it._

 _Enclosed please find payment for our room(s) and some bonus to help with future renovations, courtesy of the Heartfilia Estate. Please keep the necklace safe for me. I hope to one day return for it, but as of right now, I no longer require it._

 _I am sure helping us as you did will bring various problems to you in the future, so that is why we decided that a change in scenery would be best, as I have told you before. I am not sure where we will be going from here, but hopefully it will be far enough away and hidden that we will not get caught._

 _I would like to inform you of the reason why I joined the Renegades - it's to seek and find those responsible for my mother's death when I was younger, and now it seems to revenge my father. So, yes, I am seeking the Tartaros gang and their evasive leader. I may just end up in Alvarez._

 _I do believe I have rambled enough. In the morning we take our leave and you will be given this soon after. Thank you again for your outstanding service and hospitality._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Lucy Heartfilia_ "

"Well, damn." Mira said out loud as she put the letter on her desk and glanced inside the envelope.

There was quite a bit of cash and the necklace in the corner of the envelope. She pulled it out and admired the craftmanship before getting up and going over to where she had the secret safe hidden, or one of them. She pulled on the picture and opened the one safe and placed the envelope and necklace inside before closing it again.

"One day, Miss Lucy, you will be back. And when you come, this will be waiting for you."

It was then that she wanted to inform her brother and sister of what was in the letter. She was sure her sister was eager to know since she admired the girls for what they were fighting for.

 **~At the Sheriff's Office~**

In the morning, after an unsuccessful search of the Renegade Runaways, Sheriff Makarov Dreyer called an emergency mandatory meeting at seven in the morning.

"UGH!" Dragneel moaned as he sat down next to Fullbuster. "Why sooo early?" he asked in a drawn out whine.

"Grow up Dragneel." came a response, but not from the fellow officer next to him.

"I'm too tired to fight with you metal-head."

The sheriff walked in and dropped the stack of papers with him down onto the front table.

"All right, guys. Settle down. This is important."

The group listened and sat down and waited for their superior officer to continue.

"As you know, the Renegade Runaways have arrived in town, made their move, and have already ran off after attacking and robbing our town mayor. He has asked me to find the crooks, and their new cohort immediately. We shall not rest until we do, as per his order."

Gasps and statements of utter disbelief filled the room before Assistant Deputy Dreyer hushed the room again.

"I know, I know. But we must do what we must." the sheriff stated sounding slightly annoyed. "I have new wanted posters that I just had made, so you know exactly who to look for."

Jellal slowly, and solemnly, took a handful and distributed them out to each officer without a word, which really didn't surprise anyone since he rarely spoke to begin with.

"Now, keep this copy on you at all times. I have others printed in the main room that can be handed out throughout town. It is your job to do so and ask questions, as well as search in every nook and cranny in your assigned section of Magnolia." he started. His voice became sterner with the following words. "Leave no stone unturned in your search, and if you happen to catch a glimpse of someone who looks like the girls, don't hesitate to tail them to find out the truth."

The sheriff paused as he looked at all of the faces of his men before deciding to continue.

"The Renegade Runaways are wanted alive or dead. Please keep that in mind. That is all. Have a good day."

With his final words, he dismissed the meeting and sent his officers on their way. Natsu, Jellal, Gajeel, and Grey stayed behind for a few moments to collect their thoughts. Jellal, who is usually so calm and unreadable, just stared at his copy of the new wanted poster and then let out a small sigh.

"You already knew, though, right?" Dragneel inquired in a semi-hushed tone.

The higher ranking officer slowly looked over to his friend and co-worker and gave a slight nod.

"But now it seems more real since there are four, and having the heir of the Heartfilia family being a part of it makes it a little bit…worse."

"Ouch." Dragneel responded after his words stung him.

"Okay, so what are we going to do?"

"What do you mean Redfox? We have a job to do." Fullbuster answered semi-confused. "Just because we may or may not have fallen…in love…with some criminals, it doesn't mean we should let them get away since their list of crimes are so outrageous."

"I, for one, refuse to try to arrest Lu - er I mean Miss Heartfilia. Should we switch targets?"

The three other officers stared at their pink-haired co-worker. Jellal let out a small laugh.

"It's not funny. I am still in shock that she is part of the Renegade Runaways and that…that…she played me." he whined.

Jellal chuckled again.

"Okay, so you and I can switch. I think I can manage capturing Miss Heartfilia. And I would love to see you try to take down Titania."

At first Natsu had a small smile on his face, but it fell flat after hearing Jellal's last statement. Outwitting and capturing Titania was going to be hard work, to say the least. Gajeel and Grey just let an amused laugh at their cohort's self-induced predicament.

"Shit." was all Natsu was able to muster out causing his friends to laugh harder. "Shut up you two! I want to see you two switch too."

"Fine." Redfox and Fullbuster said in unison and shrug.

Inside Gajeel wanted to kick himself. He let the girls get away once but he never told anyone. And the reason he did so was because he was doing Juvia Lockser a favor.

"Okay, so let's split up and do what our illustrious mayor is paying us for." Fernandes stated as he got his act together.

The three others agreed and followed him out of the door.

"I wonder where Assistant Deputy Dreyar went to." Fullbuster stated curious since he noticed he wasn't around.

"Probably to see his girlfriend." Redfox stated causing the four to form grins on their faces.

 **~With the Girls~**

The quartet of female bandits woke up on the outskirts of town. Lucy felt like she wanted to puke the previous night once she was able to catch up to the others. They didn't press her to find out where she was or what she did. Erza made the executive decision to make camp in a spot they hadn't before, and in a spot that was relatively hidden.

"Did you end up leaving the letter for the Strauss Family?" Levy asked Lucy in the morning as they were packing up camp.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I put it in a place in the room where Lisanna could and hopefully would find it."

"That makes me curious."

"Think real hard Levy." Lucy teased as she threw a blanket over to her friend.

Levy let out a small giggle as she continued to pack up. Juvia went to a nearby stream to fill their canteens for their journey.

"Where are we going now, E?" Levy asked as Erza approached.

"Hmm..I was thinking about that." she answered as she scratched her head. "I think we should head back to Onibus to gather our belongings and then make way elsewhere."

"Oh, that's right. I have more crap in that room." Lucy replied forgetting what she didn't have with her.

"And we have some stuff too." Erza answered.

"Okay. Once Juvia gets back we will have to make our way and discuss the best option to retrieve our belongings."

"Agreed."

Moments later, Juvia returned and handed each their canteens before she climbed up on her horse.

"What's the verdict?"

"Onibus for our stuff and then elsewhere." Erza answered.

"Okay. I'm ready. Thanks for packing up my share Lucy."

"You're welcome."

The girls headed north to Onibus, careful not to take the main paths that had been carved out by frequent travelers. Once they made it to the outskirts, they dismounted and formulated their plan.

"As I was riding here, I was thinking of the best way to retrieve our belongings." Erza started. "I think you should go in Lucy, alone and get everything."

"Come again?" she asked shocked before gathering her composure. "Although that sounds like a greta idea, I have to disagree with you Erza. Taking multiple trips might set off some kind of alarm." Lucy half-complained. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"True. I hadn't thought of that. So, what do you suggest?"

"How about we go in shifts, one at a time?" Juvia stated. "We each grab our own things and that will make it a little easier."

"I like Juvia's suggestion!" Lucy said with a grin. "I didn't bring much myself, so I can take another bag so it lessens someone else's load."

"Okay, so then, why don't you and I go together, Lucy?" Erza stated.

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, the gentleman at the front desk didn't get a good look at you before, but he knows me well. You and I will go and grab some belongings and then head back. That is when either Lucy or Levy make their way ad grab some stuff."

"Oh, right." Lucy said sheepishly. "I forgot I was only there for a few hours."

 **~Fairy Tail Inn & Saloon~**

Assistant Deputy Laxus Dreyar took in a deep breath and exhaled before he entered the saloon. Once inside he headed over to the bar and found the barmaid in training, Kinana, washing some glasses.

"Hello Officer Dreyar." she nervously greeted.

"Hello Miss Kinana. Is Mira around?"

"Uh, yeah. Let me go get her."

"Sure. I am going to hang a new Renegade poster that was distributed this morning."

"Okay."

Kinana then headed into the back to the officer where Mira was working.

"Uh, Miss Mira, Assistant Deputy Dreyar is asking for you." Kinana said nervously.

The white haired saloon owner looked up at her semi-recent hire and smiled.

"Thank you Kinana. You can tell him to come back here."

Kinana nodded before heading back out and telling the assistant deputy to go to the office. Once he was inside, he closed the door, and then turned around and glared at the woman sitting behind the desk.

"Well, this obviously isn't a personal call." Mira noted. "What's wrong?" she asked as she got up to walk over to him.

"Don't." he stated causing her to stop in her tracks surprised.

"Pardon?" she asked shocked at his stern tone.

"Just don't."

"I'm…uh…"

"You knew."

Mira swallowed and slightly cringed.

"Knew what?" she played. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Don't give me that Mira. You knew the Renegades were staying here. In your inn and under your watch."

"Okay, and so what if I did?" she rebelled.

"Mira."

"Laxus, I don't care! They needed a place to stay. I had rooms. At first I didn't know who they were, but the more and more I saw Juvia and Erza and compared their likeness to the wanted poster, the more I realized the truth."

Laxus let out a groan.

"Mira, seriously? Every word you say isn't helping your case."

"My case?"

"Don't you get it? You're an accomplice now. You aided them by providing them shelter while they formed their plan of attack on the mayor and carried it out." he answered and then paused. "I am sorry, but I am going to have to place you under arrest."

"What?" she asked wide-eyed. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, no I'm not." he responded with a discontented sigh as he pulled out his handcuffs with one hand and grabbed her with the other.

He, a little too forcefully, slapped them on her wrist not seeing her pained expression.

"You need to come with me back to the sheriff's office. But for now, stay in here."

"Where are you going?"

"To the room to arrest them." he answered as he opened the door.

"It wouldn't do you any good Laxus."

"I beg your pardon?"

"They checked out yesterday before they went to the mayor's office. I have no idea where they are."

He swallowed as he made his way over to her and grabbed her by her upper harm, keeping a tight grasp on her so she wouldn't wiggle away. They walked past Lisanna and Elfman in the lobby of the inn, as well as Freed Justine, Bickslow and Ms. Evergreen, causing the small group to be completely dumbfounded.

"What in the world?" Freed started.

"Laxus, what the hell is wrong with you? Arresting Mira? For what?" Bickslow inquired confused.

The assistant deputy did not answer their questions and kept a very unreadable question on his face.

"There has to be a reason." Miss Evergreen stated as she tried to console a very shocked Lisanna.

Laxus steered her to the sheriff's office and right into a jail cell where he practically threw her inside before closing the door and locking it. He couldn't look at her face at all, which was a good thing too because seeing her teary-eyed expression might have pushed him over the edge.

The other officers in the building said nothing to him as they watched him bring is girlfriend into the jail and as he walked out. Most were surprised, but there were a few that were scared because they never thought they would see the day when that would happen.

 **~With Natsu and Jellal~**

"Where do you think they went to?"

"No clue. I am sure they checked out of the Fairy Tail Inn and Saloon for Mira's sake, as well as everyone else that works there, though."

"You lie."

"Maybe, okay, so yes. I am thinking at one point she will head down south, but I can't be certain she and the girls are completely done with what they had to do here. They only robbed the mayor and tied him up."

"The apple was a nice touch too."

"According to the mayor, it was your girlfriend who put that in his mouth, and with a mighty funny departing line."

"Departing line?" Natsu questioned.

"Yeah, something along the lines of calling politicians pigs."

Natsu had to give himself a few moments before he could even respond, and once he did, all he could do was burst into a laughing fit.

"I knew you'd get a kick out of it." Jellal said as he shook his head.

"Any pointers in fighting your fiancee?" Natsu asked changing the topic. "Anything I should know?"

"Uh…well, she does put up a good defense for the most part. She doesn't go down easy, so you need to surprise her the best you can."

"Oh."

"And for Lucy?"

"I thought you said you could 'manage' her?" Natsu teased.

"True, I did say that, but what do you think?"

Natsu pursed his lip as he thought before he answered his superior officer.

"Don't let her shoot you."

"That's it?"

"Yes. You saw last night. She's pretty good with a gun for a novice. And I told you she shot that Jackal guy in the forehead dead center."

"Oh. Right. So I guess it's best to restrain her immediately and disarm her."

Jellal went quiet which did not go unnoticed by Natsu.

"What is it?"

"Well, if we should luck out and are able to find those two specifically, Erza might not let Lucy get caught that easily. And, if Erza was training her in the way of the gun, she might have also been training Lucy in hand to hand combat."

"Shit."

Jellal grinned as the two continued to ride on in search of the female criminals. Natsu was not pleased with the latest revelation by his commanding officer, and he had those last few lingering thoughts on his mind as they continued riding. He was not looking forward to when the time came to go against the girls, even if they were outlaws on the run.

* * *

 **A/N 3:** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to your reviews for your reactions. And so very sorry for the massive delay again!

 **Thanks to the following users for following: Burning amber3, Zahia ouzidane, JcL107, and Jess Dardin.**

 **Thanks to the following user for adding this story to your favorites: Zahia ouzidane and Jess Dardin.**

 **Review Responses :**

 **Jess Dardin: Thanks for the review. With that, it kind of pushed me to get back into writing this, which would have been sooner if I could find my notebook I had on this story. So, anyways, thanks again! I hope you enjoyed this.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N 1:** Thank you to the ever talented Tumblr user lindako for the awesome cover art! She also has an account on Deviant Art (lindako).

 **A/N 2:** At least a couple of weeks isn't bad as last time. I have one more physical chapter to write and type (the next one) and then I have to fine tune chapter ten, which will be the last one. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

 **(** Again, based on Carried Underwood's song, _Renegade Runaway_ , so if you want to hear it, you can listen to the track with the lyric video. (Search for it on YouTube). **)**

* * *

 **Chapter** **Eight: Smokin' Cigarette**

 **~Onibus~**

Lucy and Erza made their way stealthily into Onibus and headed right to the inn where they were staying. While Erza dealt with the gentleman at the front counter, Lucy kept a close watch on those in the room. Erza led Lucy upstairs where the two grabbed what they could and headed out to where Levy and Juvia were waiting. They switched positions and the two bluenettes made their way to the inn to get more of their belongings that were left behind.

"How much more do we have there?" Erza said quietly.

"Not too much E. Maybe one more trip for the rest of my stuff, and whatever else that is left, which isn't much."

"Good deal. You and Lucy can go."

The two, both puzzled, nodded and made their way back to the inn. They quietly rode into town and dismounted. Lucy straightened out her dress and looked up and gasped.

"Crap!" Lucy said in a whisper.

"What? What is it?" Levy asked worried.

"Two officers from this town just came out of the inn." the blonde answered as she pulled the gun out from her holster on her leg.

"You had that hidden there? Color me impressed."

"Shush!" Lucy scolded as she watched where the two unknown officers walked off to. "Okay. Coast is clear."

Levy followed Lucy into the inn and up the stairs to get their last load before making their way back to the meeting place on the outskirts of Onibus.

"That was more nerve-racking then I thought it was going to be." Levy commented as she dismounted her horse.

"We need a wagon for all of this stuff." Juvia commented realizing how much the four girls actually had accumulated. "I don't know how this is all going to fit on the horses."

"We'll make due." Erza commented. "Even if we have to hide some of it in a cave somewhere." she added as she looked at Levy.

"What? Why are you looking at me? What did I do?"

"You did nothing, but since you are the one with the massive amount of books that will, in fact, weigh the horses down, those will be what will be stored somewhere."

Levy looked at her collection and scrunched her nose.

"I can't just leave them, Erza." Levy whined. "They're my pride and joy."

Lucy, who was semi-quiet up until now, finally chimed in.

"Can I say something?" she asked receiving nods from the three. "Well, the…uh…Heartfilia Estate isn't far from here." she began. "You know, if you want to stash them somewhere for the time being that's temperature controlled."

"Seriously? You want to head back there now?" Erza inquired. "What if the law is waiting for you there?"

"I know my mansion better than my servants." Lucy answered with a smug grin. "Being the 'law', they'll use the normal front and back doors, and guard the windows."

Erza and Levy raised their eyebrows.

"Continue." Erza said intrigued.

"Okay, so we may or may not have emergency escape routes built in. One such route ends on the south side of the property, but the pathway inside the mansion ends up in my room."

"How did you find out about that?"

"My mom actually. When I was about five."

"E?" Levy inquired hopeful.

"Let's go."

"YES!" Levy said as she bounced up and down full of joy.

The ladies followed Lucy to her home and to the wooded area on the south side of the property lines. When the blonde dismounted, they followed suit grabbing a box of Levy's books, and followed Lucy down a path that led into a closed off cavern.

"Creepy."

"What is?" Lucy asked with a slight hint of amusement as she lit a torch.

"The door." Juvia answered. "What does that symbol mean?"

"Oh, it's the sign for Aquarius, the constellation. My family has always had an interest in the zodiac."

Lucy followed the wall, which glistened with the dampness of the water that seeped through.

"You know what's funny?" Lucy started. "When I ran away from home, I totally forgot this was here. I ran out the front door to escape."

"When did you remember you had these tunnels?" Erza inquired puzzled.

"As soon as I left the property." she sheepishly admitted.

Not too long after, Lucy came to an abrupt halt.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I swore I heard voices. You did close the door, right, Juvia?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Lucy said in a whisper. "No more talking. I need to make sure we are alone down here. We are almost to my room anyway."

"How can you tell?" Levy whispered.

Lucy smiled as she put the torch to the wall. What was illuminated was the same symbol that was on the door they came into, but lower to the ground.

"I carved that when I was five." Lucy whispered with a grin.

The four made it safely into Lucy's room and carefully made no sound as they put the books under her four-post bed. Lucy went to her desk and started to write when the door opened. The four stopped dead in their tracks and shot upright.

"Cousin Lucy!"

"M-Michelle." Lucy said stunned as her cousin came over and hugged her. "What are you doing here?"

"I was already on my way to visit Uncle Jude and you when he was…he was…killed." Michelle started. "Are you really with the Renegades?"

"Yes. Please quiet down though."

Michelle took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"Okay. I'm fine. I am not worried, nor do I want to turn you into the authorities." Michelle said calmly.

Lucy smiled.

"Thank heavens!" Lucy said relieved.

"But why on earth are you here?"

Lucy nervously looked at her cousin and then back to her friends before answering.

"We needed a place to store some of Levy's belongings since they are books."

Michelle looked over at the three who had been carefully putting them under the bed.

"Okay. Makes sense."

"Michelle, I had a HUGE favor to ask."

"Okay?"

"As you know, if anything happens to me, you get this estate. Please take care of it from now on." Lucy blurted out and then paused. "And I will be contacting you eventually with our final destination. Can you maybe send Levy's books to us when I do?"

"I will do you one better. I will bring them myself."

Lucy let out a sigh of relief.

"Can we trust her, Lu?" Levy asked worried.

"Yes. Definitely. My cousin has no bad bone in her body. She's always on my side no matter what."

"Wait a couple of months before contacting me though. Let the craziness die down here before sending word to me."

The five ladies chatted a little while longer before decided to part ways.

Once back to their horses, the girls took some of their belongings and set up camp inside the entrance to the cavern.

"Isn't it too wet to make a fire to stay warm here?" Juvia wondered.

"This part of the cavern isn't that bad." Erza answered. "We'll camp here for the night and then head out early."

"Where exactly are we going to E?"

"Well, I think south of here is best, but we need to pass Magnolia City again, unfortunately. It can't be helped."

"Great." the three others said in unison, obviously worried about what might ensue from their return.

The following morning, the group of four made their way back towards Magnolia City and stopped in a different spot on the farthest section of the outskirts of town.

"We'll camp here tonight. Lucy, come with me to get firewood. Levy and Juvia, set up camp."

"Yes ma'am."

Lucy followed Erza through the woods and helped gather some wood for the fire.

About twenty yards away, officers Dragneel and Fernandes were closing in on their location. Natsu noticed Lucy first with her long blonde locks and smiled.

"Ah!" Dragneel said lowly as he looked over to his comrade.

Once Jellal made eye-contact with Natsu, the younger officer pointed to where the blonde was. Jellal then looked around and saw Erza's scarlet hair and let Natsu know as well. The two carefully switched places and Jellal quietly snuck up behind Lucy.

"Erza, I think we got e-mmmph." Lucy said as her mouth was covered by someone and another arm was wrapped around her front disabling her and causing the wood she gathered to drop to the ground.

She wiggled and tried to break free as she saw Natsu approaching Erza from behind. Lucy drove her heel into his foot hoping to getaway, but she still couldn't move.

"Easy there, Miss Heartfilia." Officer Fernandes finally commented trying to stop her from moving around. "And that hurt." he stated as he shook his foot.

Lucy watched as Natsu and Erza fought one another, and she relaxed. She heard Jellal let out a small chuckle and looked up at him puzzled.

"If I uncover your mouth, will you promise not to scream?"

Lucy didn't respond right away, but eventually answered with a slow nod.

"Good." he commented as he grasped her upper arm.

"Is he nuts? He's seriously fighting Erza?"

"Eh, he's not going to win."

"Why though? Why aren't you fighting her?" Lucy asked puzzled as she watched Erza body slam him to the ground. "Ouch."

"Yeah, she's not going easy on him, is she?" he asked amused. "But you shouldn't get side-tracked so easily."

"I am not going to fight you. I suck at hand to hand. Ask Erza."

"No, but I heard you are pretty good with a gun."

"Sure." she scoffed. "When I have it in my hand, which right now isn't happening since I can't move."

"Shall we make our way over there?"

"Go ahead and lead me." Lucy said with a sigh.

Jellal was quiet as he did as was told.

"You really aren't going to put up a fight?"

"Nope. At least, not yet." Lucy said with a grin. "Because, if you think about it, once Erza is done beating the ever loving snot out of Dragneel, she'll come to you to free me."

Jellal was quiet. Although he had no doubts that Natsu would be defeated by Erza, he completely forgot that Erza was a loyal friend and would help a friend out if they were in trouble. Even if it meant coming to Lucy's aide against him.

"Well, shit."

Lucy grinned as she watched Natsu's utter defeat take place.

"You should have went up against Lucy." Erza teased as she delivered her final blow knocking him on the ground and leaving him moaning in pain. She then rested her right foot on his back as a grin formed.

"Shit Erza! You didn't need to go that far." Jellal commented as he and Lucy approached.

She looked at him and then to Lucy, and then back to him.

"You didn't even land one hit on him?"

"Now's not the time to reprimand her, Titania. I came up from behind while she was distracted and yelling to you."

"He moved too fast." Lucy added ashamed.

"Yes, I am fully aware of how fast he moves." Erza retorted and then looked at Natsu. "Stay there." she barked as she took her foot off of his back and headed over to Lucy and Jellal. "You going to let her go?"

"Maybe. Then again, maybe not." he answered as he tightened his grip on Lucy's right wrist causing her to wince in pain.

"Lucy?"

"Yes, Erza?"

"Brace yourself."

It happened in a flash. One minute Lucy was wincing in pain, the next she landed hard on the ground. Erza and Jellal were now fighting, which left Lucy open to get her gun from her holster under her dress without Natsu or Jellal seeing. Once armed, she headed over to where Natsu was and kept him in his location by sitting on him.

"Seriously? I am in enough pain here." he croaked.

"Sorry, but you can't leave the spot where she left you. And now I am armed, so don't try anything funny." she finished as she pointed the barrel of the gun to the back of his head. "It would a shame to get that pink mop of yours stained with blood."

"Shit." he whined and then got silent. "Well, then, can I ask you a stupid question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why?"

"Why what?" she retorted as she kept her eyes and Erza and Jellal.

"Why do all of this? Why go this far? Why not just stay at your home where none of this would have happened?"

Lucy was quiet as she formulated her answers.

"For justice, since the law doesn't know what that means anymore. Because I had to. Because leaving meant I would be free from the crap my father was trying to pull. I needed to be free from his controlling nature."

"Was it really that bad?"

"Yes. The life of an heir to a fortune is a pain in the ass."

"And joining them?"

"Was a bonus." Lucy quickly answered. "I met Levy in the first town I came to and she helped me. She introduced me to the girls. When I told them my story, they offered for me to join them in my hunt for revenge on my mother. I had no idea it would get me to where I am right now, but that was my choice to make. You have to understand that."

"I guess I can."

He sat quietly as he registered her answers and response.

"Can you get off of me if I promise I won't do anything?"

"Uhh…not a chance."

"That's cruel."

"What Erza says goes. You must stay here."

"Then at least sit next to me."

"Definitely not happening."

He was quiet, but he did let out an aggravated sigh.

"Then you leave me no choice." he eventually commented as he started to roll counterclockwise, trying to surprise her.

However Lucy was prepared for it and she quickly stood up, jumped out of the way and kept her gun aimed at him.

"Don't move." she said sternly. "I. Will. Shoot. You."

"Not if I can get the gun out of your hand first." he countered as he took a step closer to her.

Natsu wasn't sure how it happened. He didn't pay attention to where she was stepping, but somehow he was the one hanging upside down from a tree from a trap. Lucy was standing in front of him, eye to eye, and laughing at his expense. And his hands were now handcuffed with his own handcuffs behind him and he was unarmed since Lucy took his gun.

"How?" was all he could muster out in his confused state.

"Erza and I have been here a while. We knew you were coming." Lucy started to explain and then looked over to Erza and Jellal, who were still going at it. Lucy let out a sigh. "I guess I should help her get him into the trap over there." she turned to face Natsu again and quickly kissed him on the cheek before leaving and going to assist Erza.

"WAIT! LUCY!" Natsu yelled. "GET ME DOWN!"

"Nope. Not cutting you down. Hang out a while." she teased as she walked away.

Lucy made her way over to Erza and fired a warning shot at Jellal, which caused him to lose focus and for Erza to gain the upper hand and get him into the other trap.

"Good work, Lucy." Erza complimented as she brushed her hands off. "Sorry Jellal."

"No you're not." the blue haired assistant deputy stated with a grin. "And either you're a bad shot, or you purposely missed me."

"That was on purpose." Lucy commented with a grin as Erza handed her his gun.

"We'll take your guns. We could use some more firearms."

The two ladies picked up their firewood again and started to make their way back to camp, but taking a long way around to confuse the two officers hanging by their feet.

Jellal looked over to where Natsu was hanging and noticed that the younger officer's face was darker in color than his hair color. This caused Jellal to let out a small chuckle before he pulled his arms over, or rather under, his head and carefully pulled out his knife to cut the rope. Once done, he was able to get his keys out and take off the handcuffs. He then walked over to where Natsu was.

"You got bested by Miss Heartfilia. That's sad."

"How the hell did you get out of that Jellal?"

"I'm double jointed in my arms. Erza knew it, I am sure, but probably absentmindedly forgot." he answered and then paused. "Where is your key?"

"Left pocket." Natsu grumbled.

Jellal undid Natsu's handcuffs and helped him down.

"Do we go after them? They went in that direction."

"As a guise."

"Huh? You sure?"

"Yes. Besides, we don't have our guns. What good will it do if we can't arm ourselves?" Officer Fernandes asked rhetorically.

The two made their way back to town, but Jellal directed Natsu to follow him to his house so they could rearm themselves before they headed back to the station.

"We are going to be in so much trouble." Natsu moaned. "I am never going to hear the end of it from Sheriff Dreyar….or Laxus."

"We both are. Relax."

 **~With the Girls~**

Erza and Lucy eventually made it back to camp and were greeted by Juvia and Levy, and a set up site.

"Took you long enough." Levy teased.

"Uh, yeah, we ran into a problem, but it was taken care of." Lucy said with a grin.

"Stay on your toes though." Erza half-ordered. "We still may get caught."

Lucy looked at Erza puzzled.

"You think they got out of the traps we set?"

"By now, yes. You don't give Jellal enough credit. He knows me too well." Erza said and then noticed Juvia's odd expression. "How did you two make out?"

"Fine." Juvia stated with a slight waiver in her voice.

"We caught ourselves some interesting meat." Levy joked as she pulled a blanket off of officers Redfox and Fullbuster. "See? Aren't you proud?"

Lucy and Erza looked at each other before Lucy burst out in laughter and Erza walked over to the two prisoners.

"We can't keep them here, though."

"I know, E. Juvia has their guns and extra ammunition. We handcuffed them to each other and I have the keys hidden."

"SHIT! The keys!" Lucy yelled. "We should have taken their keys!"

Erza grimaced and then agreed, but then she turned her attention to the men in front of her again and laughed.

"I don't see what's so funny." Redfox commented.

"You two are. You were beat by Levy and Juvia. I would have loved to see that, in all honestly. You know, how it all went down." Lucy commented.

Grey turned his head to his right and mumbled.

"What was that?" Erza forcefully inquired.

"I said it wasn't something I want to relive or tell as a story since it is too embarrassing." he stated causing Levy to bust out laughing.

"I'll tell you later, girls." Levy commented causing Grey to plead with her not to and earning him to be the laughing stock.

* * *

 **A/N 3:** I hope to finish chapter nine by the end of the week (need to start it first), so the update might be next week. Wouldn't that be awesome? **Please review! It keeps me motivated!**

 **Thanks to the following users for following: **none this time - eek

 **Thanks to the following user for adding this story to your favorites: Court818**

 **Review Responses :**

 **Jess Dardin: I hope you liked this chapter. I tried to add some humor in it...I have no idea what is going to happen next, but I already know the ending. **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N 1:** Thank you to the ever talented Tumblr user lindako for the awesome cover art! She also has an account on Deviant Art (lindako).

 **A/N 2:** There is only one more chapter after this that I need to post, which may be done by the end of the week. Key word: "may". I have some personal stuff going on right now, so I am not exactly in the right state of mind. I figured since I had some time until I fly back home tomorrow that I would at least give you some reading material. I hope you like this.

 **(** Again, based on Carried Underwood's song, _Renegade Runaway_ , so if you want to hear it, you can listen to the track with the lyric video. (Search for it on YouTube). **)**

* * *

 **Chapter** **Nine: Quick Draw**

 **~Fairy Tail Inn & Saloon~**

Since Mira's unfortunate arrest, Lisanna and Elfman were busy taking care of both the inn and saloon, with the help of Cana and Kinana. While Elfman mainly stayed at the inn's front desk, Lisanna dealt with the paperwork that she could until her sister would be returned to them. Cana and Kinana took care of most of the work in the saloon with making sure their guests were fed and their beverages were full.

Lisanna wouldn't even talk with Assistant Deputy Dreyar when he returned from locking her sister up, leaving Elfman to deal with the officer, much to said officer's dismay. His friends had no words for him either, and did not approve of arresting Mira for whatever his reasons. They couldn't see her as a guilty party regardless of how true it may have been. Therefore, the three agreed to keep their distance from Laxus until everything calmed down and they could find out the truth later. Once he had walked inside the saloon, the three left after paying their tabs.

"I fucked up." Laxus stated out loud after seeing his friends leave the room.

"Yes, you did." Cana commented causing him to jump. "Scotch? On the rocks?" she asked as she handed him a menu.

"Yes please."

Cana nodded before headed to the bar to fulfill his order. Once Kinana made it, she quickly brought it to him and then took his food order.

 **~With the Girls~**

The following morning, the girls were packing up, and debated on bringing their hostages with them, but decided against it.

"Gee, thanks for letting us go, but are you sure you want to?" Gray asked.

"By the time you and your partner get back to the sheriff's office, we'll be long gone." Erza answered as she watched a dirt cloud trail head into town. "And you two should, since that looks like trouble."

The two officers followed her gaze, as did the girls, and parted their mouths slightly in shock. They hesitated before heading into town.

"One thing before we go."

"Yes, Officer Redfox?" Levy inquired.

"Miss MiraJane was arrested by Assistant Deputy Dreyar for assisting you."

"WHAT?" Lucy asked in shock. "How did she assist us? By giving us a room, which I paid for?"

"Yes." Grey answered. "We thought you might want to know."

With his parting words, the two left the girls and made their way into town to see what the new ruckus was about.

"What good are they going to be fighting when we still have their guns?" Juvia inquired, slightly confused.

The three looked at her and started to laugh.

"They can get more guns from the sheriff, after a very lengthy explanation on how they lost theirs to begin with." Erza answered amused and then turned her attention over to Lucy who was staring at the town. "What is it?"

"I have a really bad feeling about that."

"You think it's Tartaros?" Levy asked.

"It's not impossible."

Erza looked at Juvia, but Lucy was quick to get onto her horse.

"Lucy!" Levy called as Lucy rode away and towards the town. "E? What do we do?"

Erza looked at their belongings that were on the floor before deciding to hop on her horse as well.

"Follow her."

Juvia and Levy agreed as they then quickly mounted their horses.

 **~At the Sheriff's Office~**

Officers Dragneel and Fernandes were in a meeting with Sheriff Dreyar explaining where they were the previous day and why they had unauthorized guns on their person when Officers Redfox and Fullbuster came into the station and headed right to the office.

"WHAT? You two knitwits too?" Sheriff Dreyar asked in shock as he sunk into his seat with a very angered expression on his face. "What the hell happened yesterday with the four of you?"

The two late officers kept quiet as the other two looked at them in shock.

"At least we showered." Dragneel commented realizing how disheveled the two looked. "And slept."

"Shut it Salamander!" Redfox barked, clearly annoyed.

There was an awkward silence in the room before anyone spoke.

"We have MiraJane Strauss arrested. The Renegade Runaways got away…again…" the sheriff trailed before inhaling and exhaling. "I will have new guns for you four in a couple of hours." he finished as Officer Gildarts knocked and then into the room. "Yes?"

"Sir, Tartaros is wreaking havoc over at the Fairy Tail Inn and Saloon."

"Shit." the small sheriff replied as he stood up. "Clive, get these four knuckleheads new guns and handcuffs. Then, once armed, all of you head over to Fairy Tail."

"Yes, sir." the five said in unison.

Ten minutes later, they met up with Laxus who was on his way to the inn, where a gunfight between the members of Tartaros and the girls was already taking place. There were about six sheriff's officers just standing around.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Assistant Deputy Dreyar inquired once he noticed the group weren't doing anything.

"Sorry sir. We had a feeling that we could let the victors of this battle revel in their win for a minute before we opened fire on them." a low-ranked officer answered.

Laxus watched intently as Erza landed a shot on two of the Tartaros members, and as Lucy dodged a bullet by a hair from one crazy looking Tartaros member.

 **~With the Girls, earlier~**

"LUCY! Wait up!" Erza ordered causing the blonde to slow down. "We need to think about this carefully."

"I want to see who it is that is now coming into town."

"Okay?"

"And free Mira." Lucy added as Levy and Juvia caught up.

Erza thought about it for a moment before formulating a plan.

"You two," she started looking at Juvia and Levy, "go free Miss Strauss. Then meet us near the saloon."

"Yes, ma'am."

The two bluenettes made their way to the sheriff's office while Lucy and Erza made their way and followed the dust trail.

"What is your plan?"

"I have no real plan. If it is Tartaros, and if Mard Geer is there, I am going to kill him." Lucy blurted out. "I want my revenge over and done with, so I can move on."

"Fair enough."

Erza led Lucy faster into the city to where the inn was and they found themselves a perfect spot to hideout until the gang came around.

 **~At the Sheriff's Office~**

Levy and Juvia cautiously made their way into the station and snuck into the back where the jail cell was. They found Mira laying down on an uncomfortable looking cot. Juvia found the set of keys on the hook near the door and went over to the door to unlock it.

"Girls! What are you doing here?" she asked in shock, and in a whisper. "If anyone sees you, you'll be caught!"

"It's because of us that you were arrested. Lucy was having none of it and Erza ordered us to come and get you out." Levy explained as Juvia struggled.

Mira smiled as she placed her hands through the bars and onto Juvia's hands. Confused, she looked up over to Mira, who just shook her head softly as she smiled.

"Leave me. You girls need to get away. Laxus is an idiot, but he's my idiot. He'll let me go tomorrow once you are all out of town officially."

"How can you be so sure?" Juvia asked concerned.

"I know him too well, but believe me that I am very happy that you would risk this and try to get me out."

Levy bit her lip before pulling Juvia gently away.

"But?"

"We should go. If it is Tartaros that is invading here, we need to make sure Lucy and Erza are safe, especially Lucy."

"You two go. I'll be fine." Mira encouraged them.

Levy and Juvia smiled before leaving the station and heading out on their horses again to catch up to their other two cohorts. Once they arrived, Levy found Erza and Lucy in a gunfight with some men on the other side of the enemy.

"Shit."

"We aren't in a good position, are we?" Juvia inquired.

"We actually might be. If we are on this side of them, and Erza and Lucy on the other, then we can attack from all sides."

"Oh, but what about behind the girls?" Juvia asked realizing there were sheriff's officers and deputies lined up, including Grey, Gajeel, Laxus, Natsu, and Jellal.

"Crap. I hope they let us be. Come on, we don't have time to waste."

Levy and Juvia started to shoot aiming at the members that were in front of them with their backs turned.

"So much for never shooting an enemy in the back." Juvia quipped with a bit of humor.

 **~Erza and Lucy~**

Lucy was shooting and fighting with all of her might, but she did notice that Levy and Juvia arrived and were joining in as well.

"The calvary has arrived." Lucy stated. Once she saw Erza's smile, she knew Erza heard her. She then turned her attention to the man she was fighting. "I am going to end you!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"Why did you send your men to come after me?"

"I wanted your money. I mean, you are a Heartfilia after all."

Lucy scoffed.

"If you hadn't noticed, I don't care for the money and crap. I'd rather be a runaway and fight for my freedom, and to get my revenge."

"Revenge, you say? Revenge for what exactly?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes as she focused her strength and pushed him away.

"My mother's murder." she answered. "And my father's."

"Oh?"

"I know that Tartaros is behind it all. You shot my mother in front of my father and me years ago. I have never forgotten the face of the man who took her away from me!"

"Ah, and I remember now who it was. You are, in fact, the spitting image of your mother Layla."

Hearing him so casually say her mother's name set Lucy over the edge. She quickly pulled out her gun and shot him. Her first shot missed where she was targeting, but she shot him nevertheless. Once he had stopped moving enough to fall onto the ground onto his back, she walked over to him and stared at him.

"Why they hell are you grinning?" she asked.

She then saw him slowly move his right arm, which was holding his gun, towards her. She kicked it out of his hands and aimed her gun at him.

"You're [cough] going to shoot [cough] me again?"

"Yeah, to be sure you are dead. And if you think about it, one shot for my mom, and another for my father. It seems fitting."

"Then do it you useless piece of trash." he mustered out.

Lucy took in a deep breath and exhaled before she pulled the trigger. She turned around and then saw Erza in a scuffle with two other members and decided to help her.

Juvia and Levy were making headway in defeating all of the members that had turned their attention to the two ladies. They eventually were defeated leaving the Renegades to deal with the sheriff's officers in the town.

"Shit." Assistant Deputy Dreyar commented as he approached the now deceased Mard Geer. He then looked over at the girls who were being cautiously cornered by his officers. "I was hoping for a much better fight than this. And it seems you girls are all out of bullets by my counts."

The three younger girls swallowed as Erza firmed her stance.

"Your counts are wrong." the scarlet haired woman commented.

"Oh? You sure about that?" he asked.

It was then that the girls pulled out their backup guns, which also happened to be the ones they commandeered from the guys the day before.

"Positive." Lucy replied with a grin.

No one saw Erza do it, but it was quick. She wanted a fast getaway so she needed to make a diversion. She aimed her gun at Jellal and shot him in the leg, causing him to go down.

Levy, Juvia and Lucy stared blankly at the result and then blinked a few times in shock.

"I can hit everyone else if you want." Erza said as she mounted her horse.

"Uh…no." Lucy replied as she pointed her gun at Natsu.

"Remember, this is what we decided. We need to get out of here. You need to shoot your targets. End of story."

"But E, even this is extreme. We didn't even fight them yet." Levy pleaded as she heard another gunshot go off. "Seriously Juvia?"

"I missed thought." Juvia replied.

Levy looked over at Grey who put his hand to his shoulder, where it was turning red from the blood.

"No, you grazed him." Lucy commented.

"My hands were shaking though. I swore I missed."

"Lucy. You need to hit Dragneel." Erza ordered as said officer approached the blonde.

"What the heck, Miss Heartfilia?" he asked confused.

Lucy was really hesitant. Natsu was not her enemy, but yet, he was since he was the law and she was a Renegade. Her heart was beating so fast that she couldn't decide what to do.

Unfortunately for her, her indecisiveness caused her to be restrained by her intended target.

"Shit!"

Natsu squeezed on her wrist causing Lucy to drop the gun she had in her hand. Lucy wasn't going to be caught without a fight, so she struggled as much as she could. That was when she found her chance. Natsu had put his left arm around her upper body and held onto her wrist with the other one.

Lucy broke free from his right hand and grabbed his left arm and ended up body slamming Natsu onto the ground. While he was stunned, she picked up her gun and aimed it at him.

"Don't make me shoot you, Natsu. Let us go."

"Not happening." Officer Redfox stated as he started his approach.

Levy wasn't having it. She had enough of the fighting for the day. She aimed her gun at Gajeel and fired.

"Sorry." she stated before mounting her horse.

Juvia also mounted her horse, leaving Lucy to be the only one not on one.

"Lucy, we need to go." Juvia sadly commented.

Lucy agreed and quickly got on the remaining horse. The four rode off, much to the surprise of everyone.

 **~An Hour Later, in the Hospital~**

"You four sure are lucky." a tall elderly woman stated as she stared at the four officers.

"We know we are." Redfix answered.

"Dragneel, you can go home. You just got beat up. No serious wounds. Fullbuster, let my daughter Wendy treat your graze."

"Yes, ma'am."

Natsu reluctantly left the hospital, and Grey found Wendy in the next room.

"Now, as for you two. This is going to be tricky. Getting a bullet out of a wound is no fun."

"Dr. Porlyusica, do your best."

"I plan to, Fernandes."

Two hours later, Jellal and Gajeel were resting in their own private rooms. Gajeel was to be released the next day, should the doctor agree to it.

Eventually Laxus decided to make a visit to see his friend in the hospital and when he went to see Jellal, he was greeted by a man who seemed very deep in thought.

"Relax, Jellal. It would have happened to the best of us."

"If you are trying to cheer me up, Dreyar, it's not working." Jellal replied. "I have had a lot of things weighing on my mind for a while, this job being one of them."

"This job? Wait, you aren't -"

"I am. I have been wanting to resign for a while now. I just never said anything to anyone about it."

"Seeing her helped finalize your decision, didn't it?"

"Would it be bad if I said it did?" Jellal retorted. "I miss her, and always have." he added and then got quiet. "What should I do?"

"You're asking the wrong guy. I mean, I did arrest my own girlfriend for letting the Renegades stay in her inn."

That statement caused Jellal to let out a small chuckle, but unfortunately, it hurt too much to laugh.

"Ow."

"Sorry dude."

"It's okay." Jellal replied and then was quiet again. "You and your grandfather are going to hate me, but I am going to have to resign. You can take my gun and badge with you. If the sheriff wants to come talk to me, he can. But I should be discharged sometime today."

"I will let him know." Laxus said sadly as he picked up the gun and badge and stuff them in his pocket to hide it from anyone.

Three hours later, and an hour after the sheriff talked with Jellal, Jellal was discharged from the care of the doctor and her daughter. He made his way over to his house, where Natsu, Grey, and Gajeel were waiting for him.

"Hi guys." he greeted surprised.

"We need to talk." Grey commented.

Jellal nodded and led the three inside. He quickly found four cups and the bottle of Scotch he had recently acquired and poured them each a glass.

"What's up?"

"First, how are you?"

"Eh, my leg's fine." Jellal said with a shrug as Natsu grabbed Jellal's copy of the wanted poster from his side table.

"What are we going to do about them?" Natsu inquired as the four sat down.

Jellal was quiet for a moment before he snatched it from his hands.

"I don't know what you guys are going to do, but I do know what I am going to do."

"Huh?" Gajeel said confused.

"I handed in my badge and gun before. Expect a lovely meeting in the morning." he started to explain. "I resigned my position in order to live how I want to." he continued. "And I want to find my fiancee and stay with her, regardless of what she is doing."

"Shit." Grey stated. "But what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't have any answers for you." Jellal answered. "But this," he said waving the poster, "means nothing to me anymore." he finished as he started to rip the poster into little pieces. He took a swig of his glass. "Now finish your drinks and leave me be."

The three did as was told and finished their Scotch before heading out the door.

* * *

 **A/N 3:** I have successfully completed this whole story! YAY! Again, like I mentioned before, I am going through some personal stuff. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

No followers or favorites this time around. :( BUT...I guess it's okay. I shouldn't expect much since my updates on this story are few and far between.

 **Review Responses :**

 **Jess Dardin: I am glad you thought Michelle was sweet. Although she was part of a filler arc in the anime, I kind of liked that Lucy had some sort of relative besides her parents, even if she was really a doll.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N 1: OMG I AM DONE!** Well, with this fanfiction anyway. I hope anyone who catches this enjoyed the whole story. Future reviews, etc may or may not go acknowledged.

 **A/N 2:** Thank you to the ever talented Tumblr user lindako for the awesome cover art! She also has an account on Deviant Art (lindako).

 **(** Again, based on Carried Underwood's song, _Renegade Runaway_ , so if you want to hear it, you can listen to the track with the lyric video. (Search for it on YouTube). **)**

* * *

 **Chapter** **Ten: Flyin' 'Cross the Desert Dirt**

 **~With the Renegades~**

The girls had picked up their belongings and made it to the outskirts of Magnolia City before anyone could notice. They went further west to make their camp in a forest that stood after the hills that marked the entrance of the town.

Lucy found herself in a bit of a daze as she thought of Natsu and the life she could have had with him, but she wouldn't change her current position if given the chance. She was able to finally seek revenge on the man responsible for her mother's death, and also her father's. Granted, now, she could no longer return home since she was a wanted criminal, she accepted her fate, and accepted her new life with open arms.

"Such a shame. He was a good looking man." she absentmindedly said out loud as Levy was standing next to her.

"They all were." the short bluenette agreed. "Even if he constantly made fun of my height."

Lucy turned and looked to her friend.

"I just hope that they will all be all right now."

"It'll take a lot more than a simple gunshot wound to the leg to take down Jellal." Erza commented.

Lucy and Juvia looked at their leader puzzled, while Levy got wide-eyed.

"You purposely shot him in the leg, didn't you?"

"So what if I did?" Erza retorted.

"I thought he moved to dodge the bullet. I honestly thought you were aiming for his chest." Levy confessed.

Erza narrowed her eyebrows at the thought.

"I would never shoot my fiancee there."

"You're still engaged, then?" Lucy asked confused.

"We haven't broken it off yet, so yeah."

Levy and Juvia broke out into a couple of fits of giggles as the four started to organize everything better on their horses.

"So, where to now, E?" Levy inquired.

Erza was silent. She debated on telling the girls, but she knew she had no choice.

"I am thinking Hargeon."

"Hargeon?" Juvia asked surprised. "Isn't that a two day ride from here?"

"Yes." Erza answered. "I have friends who might be able to help us out, for a couple of days, at least."

The three agreed and the four left on their journey down to Hargeon.

 **~At the Sheriff's Office~**

Assistant Deputy Laxus Dreyar still was in a bit of a shock after his friend's surprise resignation the night before. Telling his grandfather was not something he wanted to do either, but it had to be done. So, when the time came the following morning, Sheriff Dreyar held an emergency meeting to inform the station of the open position. He also let everyone know that the next day there would be an exam of sorts for those interested.

After the meeting, Laxus made his way to the jail cell and carefully opened the door to release his prisoner.

"Mira?"

"Hmph!" she huffed as she looked away from him.

If Mira could have folded her arms she would have, but the situation she was in did not allow her to do so.

He held his head low as he continued.

"You're free to go now." he said softly as he approached her.

She stood up slowly and held her hands out to be uncuffed.

"Why the hell have I still been handcuffed all this time?"

"Sorry. I was absent-minded when I put you in here."

"Don't you mean 'threw' me in here?" she retorted as she rubbed her wrists. "The way you handled the whole situation was wrong, and it hurt. In more ways than one."

He looked up at her and met her eye to eye.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he noticed her rubbing her wrists.

"You put the handcuffs on too hard. See? I have a mark on each wrist." she started to explain. "And my arm. You had one helluva tight grasp on it. It hurts too."

Laxus swallowed as he looked at her upper arm. He could see the very faint marks of his fingers and hand on it, which meant he had in fact held on a bit too tightly for anyone's comfort.

"Sorry."

"Apology not accepted."

"What?"

"At least not yet. I am not ready to forgive you just yet."

"Understood." he replied. "Just tell me what you want me to do."

Mira was quiet for a few moments before answering.

"I'll let you know. But for right now, I need to get back to my inn and saloon and see what chaotic situations have arisen. Give me a few days."

He nodded as he watched her walk out of the sheriff's office and into the street. Laxus then sat down at his desk and jumped when he heard his grandfather go off on three very unlucky individuals. He then watched as the three headed out the door and see his grandfather come out of his personal office with a very disappointed look on his face.

"That can't be good." he said out loud, but loud enough that only he heard it.

 **~At Jellal's Residence~**

Once awoke, Jellal Fernandes made sure all was right with his property before deciding to pack up a bag and loading his horse. As he was leading his trusty steed out of his small barn, he was met with three very familiar faces.

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked in shock.

"Well, we sort of..kind of..just quit." Natsu stretched out.

Jellal, surprised, looked at their three faces.

"What?"

"Yeah, we handed in our badges and guns too." Grey clarified.

Jellal didn't ask them any questions on why they would do such a thing, but he did have his own personal assumptions. Therefore, once the tension in the air was broke, the three joined him on his journey to find his fiancee, as well as the other ladies.

"Where exactly are we headed? I mean, they do have a day head start." Gajeel inquired.

"Hargeon."

"Really Jellal?" Natsu asked shocked.

"Yes. I have this sinking feeling that that is where Erza is leading the girls. We both know a couple of people there that would help her. If she is going somewhere to hide for a few days, weeks or months, Hargeon is the place."

"Isn't that a two day ride?"

"Yeah, it is Natsu."

"Okay! Let's ride!" Natsu yelled as he snapped the reigns on his horse to gain some speed.

The others shook their heads as they watched him, and eventually followed his lead.

"Hey dummy! Hargeon's the other way!" Jellal yelled steering him in the right direction, and causing Gajeel and Grey to laugh out loud.

 **~The Next Day~**

The girls made it to the outskirts of Hargeon by nightfall, much to their delight. Lucy perched herself on top of a small boulder nearby and looked at the small town all lit up.

"Wow."

"Yeah, it's not as magnificent as the city, but it is still beautiful." Erza commented. "We'll camp here tonight and then get an early start in the morning. If we can find my friend's house early enough, we can relax inside the comfort of an actual home."

"Good plan. Can we rearm ourselves here too?" Levy asked. "I am all out of bullets, as are Juvia, Lucy and you."

"I'll ask my friend for assistance in that department." Erza answered.

The three set up camp quickly and then crashed for the evening.

Once morning rolled around, Erza found Lucy already awake and most of their stuff packed.

"Early riser?"

"Sometimes." Lucy said quietly. "I hope I didn't make any noise."

"Nah, but thank you for packing most of it up."

"Eh, it's okay. Shall we wake the two sleeping beauties?"

"I'll get them up."

Lucy nodded as she climbed off of the boulder and headed towards the group. Once Erza woke up Juvia and Levy, the four finished packing and then made their way into town.

Erza led the three through the winding streets of Hargeon, which made Levy and Lucy nervous.

"E, are you lost?"

"No…I know where I am going. I am doing this on purpose."

Levy raised an eyebrow at her and then looked to Lucy, which caused Levy to let out a small giggle.

"It should be…right around…here!" Erza said as she stopped abruptly.

"Huh?" Lucy slipped out as Erza dismounted.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but it's my friend's home."

The trio looked at Erza and then slowly dismounted.

"ERZA!" a little girl yelled as she came out of the house. "I am SO SO SO HAPPY that you are here!" she said as she ran into Erza and hugged her.

Erza smiled as she noticed a man walking out as well.

"Hello Azuka! Hi Alzack!"

"Hello E! Go ahead and get inside. I'll bring the horses around." he quickly greeted and then left his five year old daughter to bring their guests inside.

"Introductions later?" Lucy asked confused.

"Yes." Erza stated as Azuka pulled her inside.

They were greeted by Bisca inside, and once Alzack came inside, proper greetings took place.

"So, you must be tired. We have plenty of room here for the four of you. Make yourselves at home." Bisca offered with a huge smile on her face.

"There are two bathrooms upstairs, and a third on the third floor." Alzack stated.

"Wow. Impressive."

"Yeah, well, we've done a lot of work to this house, E, since you were here last." Bisca teased.

Azuka gave the girls a quick tour of the house and the girls decided who would bathe first. Once everyone was freshened up, they joined Alzack and Bisca downstairs for some light refreshments.

"We need to figure out to get so you girls are cooped up in this house all day. It's so nice this time of year here. It'd be a shame for you not to enjoy the weather." Bisca stated.

"Yeah, but Bisca, they need to change their appearance, especially their hair."

"What do you mean, Alzack?" Lucy asked confused.

"You have blonde hair. Erza's scarlet is too noticable. And these two with the blue hair stand out, especially since you are the Renegades." he explained. "You need to cut and dye it a different color."

"Cut?"

"And dye?"

Juvia and Lucy were absolutely mortified at the thought. Luckily, they weren't alone.

"NO!" Azuka yelled. "They can get some wigs!" she suggested. "Arabella's mommy owns a shop. She can help."

Bisca smiled. Once the plans were decided, she headed to her daughter's friend's mom's store and picked up four new wigs. Ones that didn't stand out so much. Once the girls practiced putting them on, they were good to go out the next day.

"My head itches." Levy complained as she carefully scratched her head where the blonde wig on her was irritating her scalp.

"This isn't something you get used to on the first day of wearing them." Bisca commented. "I wore one for the first month I was here since my green hair was unacceptable for most of the older generation, but then I got over it and said forget it." she finished with a small laugh.

"All right, let's test these babies out!" Erza said with a newfound excitement, much to the other's surprise.

Their new disguises worked wonderfully for them for the first few hours of their day out. However, Erza got tired from having to scratch her head from it itching.

"I swear something is wrong with this thing." she complained as she scratched her head once again as they walked out of a dessert shop carrying two small packages.

"Mine was bothering me earlier, but I am fine now. I wonder if the threading is messed up on yours." Levy commented. "Should we head back to the house to take them off for a bit?"

"Nah. I'll suffer." Erza replied as she stood up straight and took a deep breath.

They stopped to look at a window at a jewelry store, admiring the pieces that were on display. Lucy pointed out a necklace, causing Levy to stand on her toes to get a better view. Erza and Juvia smiled at a couple of the pieces as well. Erza then turned to her right to look back in the direction they had just come from due to some very loud men with familiar voices.

"Well, shit!"

"Huh? What's wrong Erza?" Lucy inquired worried.

"Maybe we should head back for a little bit after all." Erza answered changing her mind and rushing the girls away from the window display.

They headed back to the Connell residence without fully knowing what had just happened, and all were confused.

 **~With the Guys~**

"So this is Hargeon." Grey stated as they slowly meandered into town on horseback. "Where are your friends at, Jellal?"

"We aren't staying with them. We can stay at an inn near their house." Jellal answered.

"Why can't we -" Natsu started.

"Because I am sure the girls are already there. It wouldn't be right to barge in and intrude. Bisca and Alzack already have enough on their plate with harboring some wanted criminals." Jellal answered as his last part of his explanation turned into a whisper.

"Good idea. I'll pay for the first night." Gajeel offered.

The three other men looked at him puzzled, but shrugged. Once they found the closest inn to the Connell residence, they checked in, and rest a bit before venturing out for lunch. As they were walking, Natsu and Grey started to fight, which the two older men had to break up and scold the two like they were toddlers. It was amusing for some of the residents of Hargeon, but some others thought the behavior was a bit disgraceful for grown men. They approached a dessert shop, and Jellal wasn't looking at the cakes on display, but rather a set of very familiar dark brown eyes with mismatched black hair.

"Crap."

"What?"

"Er, I thought I saw someone else I knew." Jellal quickly lied. He, truthfully, didn't want to tell them he realized the girls were now in disguise.

"Oh. Okay. Well, you coming in here, or what?" Grey asked as he motioned for the store.

"Sure."

After devouring a slice of cake, the four men made their way back to their inn to relax and bathe. Even for some men, a nice hot shower or bath is always welcomed.

 **~The Next Morning~**

The girls were slowly getting ready head out around eleven o'clock. Once they met down in the Connell's parlour, Lucy, Juvia and Levy were surprised to see that Erza decided to just put her own hair up and not use a wig.

"Really, E?"

"Eh, it's okay." the scarlet haired woman shrugged. "I'll be careful and pay attention to my surroundings."

"Okay, so shall we go?" Lucy suggested trying to change the topic.

The other agreed and the four headed down to the docks to wander around down there. Juvia and Erza were walking ahead of Lucy and Levy carrying on their own conversations about what else they could do in Hargeon before departing.

All of a sudden, both Lucy and Levy felt hands wrap around their mouths and waists. Levy was quickly scooped up and whisked away where she couldn't make a sound. Lucy was just held in one location. Erza and Juvia stopped, after realizing they couldn't hear their friends voices any longer. They both turned around simultaneously concerned, but were greeted by a male body in front of them.

"Shit!" Erza said out loud recognizing the male in front of her.

"Hello Officer Fullbuster." Juvia greeted and then heard Erza let out a small 'eep' in shock. She turned to see that Assistant Deputy Fernandes had his arms wrapped tightly around Erza.

"Ladies, don't scream." Jellal ordered with a grin.

Erza swallowed as she caught her breath.

"You know you should never sneak up on me, right?" Erza asked noticing her fiancee was not loosening his grip.

"But it was fun this way."

"How did you know it was us?" Juvia asked worried as she saw Gajeel and Natsu approach with a very surprised Lucy and Levy, the latter still over Gajeel's shoulder.

"Gajeel, put her down now." Jellal ordered shaking his head.

Luckily he did as was asked and put Levy down on the ground, where she straightened herself out and grunted.

"If it wasn't for Erza's trademark hair, we wouldn't have know it was you from behind." Grey finally answered Juvia.

"Great, so now you caught us." Levy said in a huff. "I guess that means we're going to jail, am I right?"

The four men were quiet, which did not go unnoticed by the girls.

"What? What is it?" Lucy asked puzzled. "Did we miss something?"

"Well…." Natsu started.

"We would arrest you if we had our guns." Grey started.

"And handcuffs." Gajeel continued.

"And badges." Jellal finished.

It took a few seconds for the girls to process their combined statements.

"If?" Erza questioned. "What do you mean by 'if'?"

"Jellal handed in his badge first, and we followed the next morning, much to Sheriff Dreyar's dismay." Grey answered.

"Wait, so you aren't cops anymore? And you can't arrest us?"

"That is correct, Shorty." Gajeel answered with a grin.

He was about continue to say something else, but Erza was recognized.

"IT'S TITANIA! THE RENEGADE RUNAWAYS ARE HERE IN HARGEON! SOMEONE GET THE SHERIFF!" a man yelled causing the group to blanche.

"Shit!" Erza loudly stated.

"See? You should have worn your wig. Now what are we going to do?" Levy scolded her.

Natsu was gazing off to the west at the water, and was very quiet. He hesitated, but he eventually spoke.

"I think I know where we can go." he blurted out as he still looking at the water.

"Where?" Lucy asked confused as she saw him staring. "The only thing in that direction is Alvarez."

"Not just Alvarez." Natsu said as he turned himself around. "Follow me. Don't ask questions. I'll explain once we're on….a boat." he ended with a shudder.

The group didn't ask any questions. They followed him and waited until they were able to get safe passage on a boat that would take them to their unknown destination.

"A word of warning. I may get seasick." Natsu stated before the boat departed the pier.

He found a decent place to sit next to the railing as the group gathered around him.

"So, explain. Where are we going, Salamander?" Gajeel inquired.

Natsu swallowed.

"We aren't going to Alvarez, but we are headed in that general direction." he started, obviously worried. "There's an island out there that I know of, but I have never been to. My brother lives their with his wife, and that's where she is from originally."

"Back up - brother?" Grey questioned. "In all the years I have known you, I didn't know you had - er have a brother. What gives?"

"He's older than me. He left the force when he was twenty when he decided he wanted to marry the love of his life, who I met when I was five. I haven't seen them in quite some time." he said and then paused as he looked out at the water. "Zeref was also on the force. You three may have heard stories. I don't know why he had to leave the force and leave me behind, but that is what he chose to do. I never questioned it. I originally thought he just moved and got a job as an officer in another town. When I joined the Magnolia City Sheriff's Office, I found out otherwise, but didn't tell anyone."

The group remained quiet as they listened.

"So, they have lived on this island this whole time?"

"I am assuming so, Luce." Natsu answered and then a shrug.

"Do you think your brother and sister-in-law will be willing to let us stay with them?" Levy asked.

"I am not sure. But it's worth a shot, right? If not, we can head farther west to Alvarez."

The group shrugged and decided to change the topic, much to Natsu's enjoyment since the water was getting rougher and he was, in fact, about to heave overboard.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at their destination and the captain of the ship they were on left them with two rowboats. Before getting off of the boat, Erza and Jellal asked for him to run to the Connell's residence to give them a letter and any assistance they would require to bring their belongings to them in the future. The captain agreed and would do it quietly not to gather any attention. Jellal also requested that he find a way to get his belongings to them from the inn, which the first mate agreed to help out with by getting the crew involved.

Once on land, Natsu sprawled out on the sand causing the others to laugh.

"Land! Glorious land! Oh, how I've missed you!" he cried causing the group to burst out into an even louder laughter. Natsu quickly stood up and brushed himself off. "To be fair, I did warn you I may get seasick." he said and then led them through the terrain.

"Do you even know where we are going?" Grey asked worried he was about to get lost.

"Relax. This island isn't that big. The tree is the biggest thing here, and we are walking through all of its roots."

Before long, the group made it to their destination, and boy was it a sight to behold.

"Holy!" Lucy slipped. "That's like half the size of my childhood home."

"Truly, it is." Levy added. "Is this where your brother is?" she added as the group heard a branch crack from behind them.

"Who the hell are you people?" a voice asked in shock.

They all turned around slowly and were greeted by a man with jet black hair.

"ZEREF!" Natsu yelled and then showed his toothy grin.

"Na-Natsu?" the man asked in shock as he blinked multiple times to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Hi!" Natsu greeted.

Zeref scratched his head as he tried to process what would possess his brother to come to this island and find him.

"You haven't aged a day!" Natsu commented noting his appearance. "I thought, for sure, by now you would have a few grey hairs like dad."

"Uhh…right, so, before I explain, that - welcome to Tenrou Island everyone. If you would, please follow me inside."

"Did you just say…"

"Tenrou Island?" Lucy finished Levy's question.

Zeref let out a nervous laugh before nodding.

"Come inside."

The group hesitantly followed him, slightly confused as to why he was being so cautious. Once inside the house, they marveled at the ornate interior of the building.

"MAVIS! WE HAVE COMPANY!" Zeref yelled as he continued walking.

Not long after they all heard footsteps running into their location.

"Huh? What do you mean we have com…pan..ee?" a woman with long blonde hair asked. "Oh, hello." she greeted confused.

"Bring tea?"

"Uh…sure."

"I'll help." Lucy offered.

"Thanks."

Lucy followed Mavis while Zeref brought the others to one of the larger parlor rooms that were in the house. Mavis and Lucy met up with them, and as Mavis served the tea to everyone, Natsu introduced everyone to one another formally. Mavis regaled the group with the story of how when Natsu was younger, he never left Mavis alone and 'clinged to her leg' causing the group to erupt into laughter.

After a small spell of awkward silence, Lucy broke it.

"So, Zeref, are the rumors about Tenrou Island true? Is it really cursed?"

He cleared his throat before speaking.

"In a way I guess you could say it is."

"Cursed?"

Zeref let out an amused laugh as he thought of what to say.

"There is something wrong with this island. It seems that your aging slows down if you live on here for too long. Natsu noticed it when he saw me just now. It may have taken about seven years for me to believe it, but it is true. I haven't aged physically, and I don't know how long this will last."

"I grew up here, so it's weird for outsiders to believe that I am the age that I am. I have ventured to both Alvarez and Ishgar, and have spent quiet a lot of time in those countries, and have aged 'normally' there, but once I came back here, my aging slowed down again." Mavis added.

"Wait, so how old are you exactly?"

"Old enough to be your…mother." Mavis answered Gajeel.

"Try grandmother." Zeref added with an amused grin.

"WHAT?" everyone asked in shock.

"Oh dear." Mavis said embarrassed.

"I've learned to accept it." Zeref started. "I am aware of how old my wife actually is, but I still love her."

"So this life here…" Natsu trailed.

"It's fine. No worries. We grow our own food, catch our own fish, and we live here in peace and quiet. No one comes to bother us…."

"Except for your annoying little brother, apparently." Grey stated.

"You are more than welcome to stay here for as long as you like." Mavis stated. "We have plenty to go around. You'll need to pull your weight though."

"We can all agree to that." Jellal stated.

"Okay, you are free to leave whenever you want." Zeref explained and then got quiet. "What brought you here in the first place to begin with?"

"Oh, right, so please listen carefully." Erza started before Natsu could.

She explained the whole story about them being the 'Renegade Runaways' and the guys being the law. Lucy and the others chimed in when Erza couldn't find the right words, or what else to tell.

"Oh, well, that's interesting." Mavis teased. "Criminal or not, you are welcome to be here. So, welcome! And let's try and figure out living arrangements here. We have plenty of rooms and such."

"I guess since you're wanted criminals in Ishgar, and that you fellas are now accomplices, it might be up to me to help the Connells with your belongings?" Zeref asked amused.

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind, bro." Natsu commented with a cheesy grin.

So, with a new future on the horizon, the group of eight now lived on Tenrou Island for the time being…

 **~The End~**

* * *

 **A/N 3:** Okay, so it's been a long road in between me writing and posting this story. I hope anyone that reads this enjoyed it immensely, if not, a little is okay too. I do not plan to continue this story, so please do not ask. Thank you for all of those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed this fanfiction.

 **Thanks to the following users for following: ****Nalu forever 2002**

 **Thanks to the following user for adding this story to your favorites: Nalu forever 2002**

 **Review Responses :**

 **Jess Dardin: I tried to make it good. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. **


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